Discerning Mission - Week 4
The Mission of the Clergy
Questions in Preparation for Week 4
26th October 2026
Questions to stimulate reflection:
1) Identify the workload of priests in your parish and deanery. Are some of these tasks not essential for a priest to do and so could be undertaken by someone else?
2) How can our clergy be better supported?
3) Isolation can be a challenge for priests, especially with our geography. How can our priests experience sufficient support from each other, their bishop and parishioners?
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Presentation Week 4 – Presentation on Mission of the Clergy
We know that through baptism we are a priestly, prophetic and royal people. We all share in the common priesthood of Jesus Christ. We also know that some baptised men are called to share in the ministerial priesthood as bishops and priests through ordination. Deacons also receive Holy Orders but are not ministerial priests.
Tonight we will concentrate on the role of priests in Argyll and the Isles. I want to acknowledge and thank our priests for who they are and what they do. Priests have been called by God to an extremely important vocation sharing in and continuing, in a particular way, the ministry of Jesus Christ. Every parish has a priest assigned to it, even if he is not resident within it. Priests have a sacred ministry through which they serve the lay faithful, helping to empower them for witness, while also reaching out to wider society. They are the bishop’s closest co-workers. They share in peoples’ daily lives, their joys and sorrows and bring hope in countless situations. Priests have a unique and deep effect on the lives and faith of Catholics and beyond.
Priests are called to personal holiness. Oneness with Christ is beneficial for priests on a personal level but through this bond they will also bear more fruit in their ministry. Close union is a grace from God but it must be freely accepted. Discipline, prayer, time and effort are required. As missionaries and builders of communion priests are to develop fraternal bonds with their bishop, fellow priests, deacons, religious, parishioners and the wider community which demands personal conversion, openness and maturity.
None of this happens automatically. During and since the Council the Church has increasingly recognised the need for on-going formation of priests which includes retreats, Spiritual Direction, clergy gatherings, study, in-service as well as adequate holidays and other opportunities for relaxation. Newly ordained, in-coming priests, the elderly and infirm need specific forms of support. This is not a luxury but a necessity. It may demand a change of attitude among priests, bishops and lay faithful.
During this evening’s Conversation in the Spirit I ask you to reflect on the unique importance of priests and how they make Christ present and build up the faith within our parishes and across our diocese and beyond.
To help us understand the reality of our priests’ ministry as it is presently exercised, please identify some of the tasks priests do.
Having identified the tasks which priests do, ask which are restricted to priests alone and which can be done by deacons or the non-ordained. For example, only priests can celebrate Mass and hear Confessions but can only priests bring Holy Communion to the housebound or print the newsletter? Please don’t spend time discussing exactly who else can do these tasks, as this will be examined later, but concentrate on distinguishing what things only priests can do from those things which anyone with the relevant skills can do.
Can our priests feel isolated and, if so, what can be done to alleviate this?
The Church emphasises the importance of on-going formation so how can we stimulate interest and create opportunities so that priests can grow personally which will also strengthen them to lovingly, relevantly, and selflessly spread the Good News in our challenging circumstances?
In short, we need our priests so how can we better support them?
Resources that may be especially helpful this week:
