Dear Brothers in the priesthood of Christ!

As we gather today in the many different Cathedral Churches throughout the world—members of the presbyteral communities of an the Churches together with the Pastors of the Dioceses—there come back to our mind with new force these words about Jesus Christ which became the recurring theme of the 500th anniversary of the evangelization of the New World.

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever" :these words refer to the one eternal Priest, who "entered once for an into the Holy Place,... with his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption" (cf. Heb 9:12). Now the days have come—the "Triduum Sacrum" of the Church’s sacred liturgy—in which, with even deeper veneration and worship, we renew the Passover of Christ, "his hour" (cf. Jn 2:4; 13:1), which is the blessed "fullness of time" (cf. Gal 4.4).

Through the Eucharist, this "hour" of Christ’s, redemption continues, in the Church, to be salvific. Today especially the Church recalls the institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper. "I will not leave you desolate; I will come to you" (Jn 14:18). The "hour" of the Redeemer, the "hour" of his going forth from this world to the Father, the "hour" of which he himself says: "I go away, and I will come to you" (Jn 14:28). Precisely through his "paschal going forth", Christ constantly comes to us and remains present among us, by the power of the Spirit, the Paraclete. He is present sacramentally. He is present through the Eucharist. He is really present.

Dear brothers, after the Apostles we have received this ineffable gift so that we may be ministers of Christ’s going forth by way of the cross and, at the same time, of his coming in the Eucharist. How wonderful this Holy Triduum is for us! How wonderful for us is this day—the day of the Last Supper! We are ministers of the mystery of the redemption of the world ministers of the Body which was offered and of the Blood which was shed so that sins might be forgiven. Ministers of that Sacrifice by which he, alone, entered once for all into the Holy Place. "Having offered himself withoutblemish to God, he purifies our conscience from dead works to serve the living God" (cf. Heb 9:14).

Although all the days of our life are marked by this great mystery of faith, today is even more so. This is our day with him.

2. On this day we gather together in our priestlycommunities, so that each one can contemplate more deeply the mystery of the Sacrament whereby we have become ministers in the Church of Christ’s priestly offering. We have likewise become servants of the royal priesthood of the whole People of God, of all the baptized, so that we may proclaim the "magnalia Dei", the "mighty works of God" (Acts 2:11).

It is fitting to include in our thanksgiving this year a particular element of gratitude for the gift of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. This text is a response to the mission which the Lord has entrusted to his Church: to guard the deposit of faith and to hand it down intact, with authority and loving concern, to coming generations.

The result of the fruitful cooperation of the Bishops of the Catholic Church, the Catechism is entrusted above all to us, the Pastors of God’s People, in order to strengthen our deep bonds of communion in the same apostolic faith. As a compendium of the one perennial Catholic faith, it constitutes a trustworthy and authoritative means for bearing witness to and ensuring that unity in faith for which Christ himself prayed fervently to the Father as his "hour" drew near (cf. Jn 17:21-23).

The Catechism sets forth once more the fundamental and essential contents of Catholic faith and morality as they are believed, celebrated, lived and prayed by the Church today. It is thus a special means for deepening knowledge of the inexhaustible Christian mystery, for encouraging fresh enthusiasm for prayer intimately united with the prayer of Christ and for strengthening the commitment of a consistent witness of life. 

At the same time, this Catechism is given to us as a sure point of Reference for fulfilling the mission, entrusted to us in the Sacrament of Orders, of proclaiming the "Good News" to all people in the name of Christ and of the Church. Thanks to it, we can put into practice in a constantly renewed way Christ’s perennial command: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations... teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you" (Mt 28:19-20).

Indeed, in this summary of the deposit of faith, we can find an authentic and sure norm for teaching Catholic doctrine, for catechetical activity among the Christian people, for that "new evangelization" of which today’s world has such immense need.

Dear priests, our life and ministry will themselves become an eloquent catechesis for the entire community entrusted to us, provided that they are rooted in the Truth which is Christ. Then ours will not be an isolated witness, but a harmonious one, offered by people united in the same faith and sharing in the same cup. It is this sort of vital "infectiousness" that we must together aim at, in effective and affective communion, in order to carry out the ever more urgent "new evangelization"

3. Gathered on Holy Thursday in all the priestly communities of the Church throughout the world, we give thanks for the gift of Christ’s priesthood which we share through the sacrament of Holy Orders. In this thanksgiving we wish to include the theme of the Catechism, because its contents and its usefulness are particularly linked up with our priestly life and with the Church’s pastoral ministry.

In the journey towards the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000, the Church has succeeded in producing, after the Second Vatican Council, a compendium of her teaching on faith and morality, on sacramental life and prayer. This synthesis can support our priestly ministry in various ways. It can also enlighten the apostolic awareness of our brothers and sisters who following their Christian vocation, desire together with us to account for that hope (cf. 1 Pt 3:15) which gives us life in Jesus Christ.

The Catechism presents the "newness of the Council", and at the same time situates it in the whole of Tradition. The Catechism is so filled with the treasures found in Sacred Scripture and in the Fathers and Doctors of the Church in the course of 2,000 years that it will enable each of us to become like the man in the Gospel parable "who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old" (Mt 13:52), the ancient and ever new riches of the divine deposit.

Rekindling the grace of the Sacrament of Orders, conscious of what the Catechism of the Catholic Church means for our priestly ministry, we confess with worship and love the One who is "the way, and the truth, and the life" (Jn 14:6).

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever".

From the Vatican, on 8 April, Holy Thursday, in the year 1993, the 15th of my Pontificate.

As a means of encouraging further study of the problems associated with priestly spirituality in our time, the Holy Father has directed that the present Letter be accompanied by the text of the reflections and prayer which he offered at the conclusion of his meeting with the Presidents of the Episcopal Conferences of Europe, held in the Vatican on 1 December 1992.

At the end of this meeting, which has enabled us to deepen our communion and ecclesial solidarity, I would like to share with you some reflections in connection with the 1990 Synod of Bishops, and then conclude with a prayer entrusting to the Lord all our pastoral concerns, in particular the commitment of those who share with us in the priesthood and their fidelity to the call to serve the kingdom of God with total dedication.

I. Reflections

Christ’s words concerning celibacy for the sake of the kingdom of heaven are coupled with the explanation that he offers to the Apostles: "Not all can receive this saying, but only those to whom it is given" (Mt 19:11). As the Gospel presents it, celibacy is a gift for the individual and, in him and through him, a gift for the Church.

The 1990 Synod of Bishops invited us once again to reaffirm the value of this gift and expressed once more the desire that it should remain an inheritance of the Latin Church for the good of her mission. This was duly expressed in the Post - Synodal Exhortation Pastores dabo vobis. That document contains a synthesis of the statements of the Synod Fathers and quotes its final proposals. Those who took part in the Synod cannot forget the testimonies given by individual Bishops from all over the world regarding the great value of priestly celibacy. These testimonies largely gave the Synod its "tone".

All this should give rise to faith and trust that the One who began this good work in us will bring it to completion (cf. Phil 1:6). What is needed on our part, then, is full confidence in the divine Giver of spiritual gifts. This confidence is especially important in places where the Church is exposed to the risk of a special challenge with regard to vocations. In a world marked by increasing secularization, these challenges are the result of the general climate. It is often hard to avoid the impression that a specific strategy is at work which has as one of its aims to distance the Church from fidelity to her Lord and Spouse.

But Christ himself is faithful to his covenant and he has the power to work through the Holy Spirit, who makes it possible to overcome the spirit of this world and to see celibacy for the sake of the kingdom of God as a choice of life, against all human weakness and human strategies. We only need not to lose heart, or to create around this vocation and choice a climate of discouragement. The Catholic Church esteems other traditions, especially those of the Churches of the East, but she wishes to remain faithful to the charism which she has received and embraced as a gift from her Lord and Master. This fidelity and ardent prayer will open the way to the priesthood even in the most unfavourable conditions.

I am writing these words in connection with the Exhortation Pastores dabo vobis. At the same time they represent a heartfelt appeal to the whole Church, and in a particular way to her Pastors. The centuries-old tradition confirmed by the Second Vatican Council and by the subsequent Synods, especially the last one devoted to priestly formation, requires all of us to be faithful and to trust in the "Lord of the harvest" (Mt 9:38).

In terms of the universal Church, the solidarity of the Bishops will make it possible to find a solution through an "exchange of gifts" between Churches suffering from a shortage of vocations and those able to offer them help. As Christ said: "By this all will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another" (Jn 13:35). The solidarity of the Bishops is seen precisely in this communal love which knows how to offer and how to accept a gift.

II: Prayer

"Pastores dabo vobis". With these words the whole Church turns to you, who are the "Lord of the harvest", asking for workers for your harvest, which is immense (cf. Mt 9:38). Good Shepherd, you yourself once sent the first workers into your harvest. There were 12 of them. Now that nearly two millennia have passed and their message has been spread to the ends of the earth, we feel even more urgently the need to pray that successors to them will be raised up in our own day—and in particular that there will be a sufficient number of those who in the ministerial priesthood build up the Church by the power of the word of God and the sacraments; those who in your name are ministers of the Eucharist, through which the Church, which is your Body, constantly grows.

We give you thanks that from the perspective of the universal Church the temporary crisis in vocations is on the way to being overcome. Withgreat joy we are witnessing an increase in the number of vocations in different parts of the world: in the young Churches, but also in many countries with a centuries-long Christian tradition, as well as in places where in our own century the Church has suffered various forms of persecution. With special fervour we make our prayer as we think about those societies dominated by a climate of secularization, in which the spirit of this world hinders the action of the Holy Spirit, so that the seed sown in the hearts of the young either does not take root or does not grow. For these societies, especially, we pray all the more: "Send forth your Spirit and renew the face of the earth".

The Church thanks you, O divine Spouse, because from the most ancient of times it has been able to welcome the call to consecrated celibacy for the sake of the kingdom of God, and because for centuries she has preserved within her self the charism of priestly celibacy. We thank You for the Second Vatican Council and for the recent Synod of Bishops which reaffirmed this charism and have shown it to be the correct way forward for the Church of the future. We are aware of the fragility of the vessels in which we carry this treasure, yet we believe in the power of the Holy Spirit who works through the grace of the sacrament in each one of us. With all the more fervour we ask you to enable us to cooperate unfailingly with the power of the Spirit.

We ask you, the Spirit of Christ they Good Shepherd, that we may remain faithful to this particular inheritance of the Latin Church. "Do not quench the Spirit" (1 Thess 5:19), the Apostle tells us. We pray that we may not fall into doubt or sow doubt in others, or become —God forbid!—supporters of different choices and of a different kind of spirituality for the priestly life and ministry. For Saint Paul also says: "Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God" (Eph 4:30).

Pastores dabo vobis!

We ask you to forgive all our failings regarding this holy ministry which is your priesthood in our life. We ask you to enable us to work together perseveringly in this "great harvest", to enable us to do everything necessary to awaken vocations and guide them to maturity. We ask you above all to help us to pray without ceasing. For you yourself said: "Pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest" (Mt 9:38).

When confronted with this world which in many ways shows its indifference to the kingdom of God, may we be accompanied by the certitude which you the Good Shepherd, poured into the hearts of the Apostles: "Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world" (Jn 16:33). This is—in spite of everything—the same world which your Father so loved that he gave you, his only-begotten Son (cf. Jn 3:16).

O Mother of the divine Son, Mother of the Church, Mother of all peoples, pray with us! Pray for us!