Dedicating your life to the priesthood is a fantastic thing to do

Father Armando Lasanta, parish priest of Alberite, La Rioja, Spain

March 20, 2009

Tags: Sacrament of Reconciliation, Jesus Christ, Piety, Priesthood “Thanks to the formative activities I attend, my love for the Church, the Pope and the magisterium grows constantly greater. The Pope’s faithfulness to Jesus Christ is something I find very moving. I have benefited hugely from the example set by the Founder of Opus Dei. He always used to say, ‘First come the norms of piety, your relationship with our Lord in prayer, celebrating Holy Mass, care of the little details in the way you treat people, looking after the sick…’ I learnt from him how important it is to be constantly cheerful, passing on optimism to others, and being positive in the face of life’s difficulties. ‘Everything is for the best,’ as he said, and he was himself a teacher of good humour.

Another concern I also inherited from his experience is that of seeking vocations to the priesthood. Helping boys and young men to discover that, if God calls them, what will give meaning to their lives may be to dedicate themselves to God by becoming a priest. Helping them see that dedicating your life to the priesthood is a wonderful, fantastic thing to do. I myself was, in a way, the fruit of our local priest’s apostolic zeal …

I’ve also learnt from the Founder of Opus Dei that formation has to lead to a living relationship with Jesus Christ; it has to lead people to love Jesus and draw close to him. And for that to happen, the Tabernacle in church has to be the centre not only of the priest’s life but of the parishioners’ lives too – they need to feel that their reference point is our Lord in the Tabernacle, someone they can visit and turn to. I remind people constantly that we need to receive Communion with clean souls, after having said sorry for our sins in the sacrament of Confession when necessary. And then develop a relationship with our Mother Mary, our Blessed Lady. In these parts, in La Rioja, people love our Lady very much, and I encourage them to put her in the centre of their lives too, together with our Lord in the Tabernacle.