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272 • Part II. The Sacraments: The Faith Celebrated
you seek?” And the two reply, “Rabbi, where are you staying?”
He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where he
was staying; and they stayed with him that day” (Jn 1:37-39).
In a certain sense, the spiritual life of the person who is prepar-
ing for priesthood is dominated by this search; by it and by the
“finding” of the Master, to follow him, to be in communion
with him. So inexhaustible is the mystery of the imitation of
Christ and the sharing in his life that this “seeking” will have
to continue throughout the priest’s life and ministry. Likewise
this “finding” the Master will have to continue in order to bring
him to others, or rather in order to excite in others the desire
to seek out the Master. But all this becomes possible if it is pro-
posed to others as a living “experience,” an experience that is
worthwhile sharing. This was the path followed by Andrew to
lead his brother Simon to Jesus. The evangelist John writes that
Andrew “first found his brother Simon, and said to him, “We
have found the Messiah (which means Christ)” and brought
him to Jesus (Jn 1:41-42). And so Simon too will be called, as
an apostle, to follow the Messiah: “Jesus looked at him and
said, ‘So you are Simon the son of John? You shall be called
Cephas’ (which means Peter)” (Jn 1:42). . . . An essential ele-
ment of spiritual formation is the prayerful and meditated read-
ing of the Word of God, a humble and loving listening to him
who speaks. . . . Familiarity with the Word of God will make
conversion easy, not only in the sense of detaching us from evil,
so as to adhere to the good, but also in the sense of nourishing
our heart with the thoughts of God, so that faith (as a response
to the word) becomes our new basis for judging and evaluating
persons and things, events and problems. (Pope John Paul II,
I
Will Give You Shepherds
[
Pastores Dabo Vobis
], nos. 46-47)
FOR DISCUSSION
1. What qualities of a priest serve to draw people to them? What are a
number of ways that the lay faithful and priests support each other
for the good of families and the mission of the Church?