Spiritual and psychological maturity and the preferential option for the poor are among the qualities Archbishop Filomeno do Nascimento Vieira Dias expects the newly installed Parish Priest in his Metropolitan See to exhibit.
“The Parish Priest is a man who is psychologically and spiritually well off and must be a person of prayer and piety, a friend of the poor, attentive to the sick, (and) close to young people and children,” Archbishop Dias said during the installation of Fr. Dinis Bezerra da Silva as the father in charge of the newly created St. Therese of the Child Jesus Parish.
He added, “A Parish Priest should be capable of working as a team and living in community and for the community.”
In his October 1 homily during Holy Mass for the installation of Fr. Dinis Bezerra da Silva, Archbishop Filomeno do Nascimento Vieira Dias encouraged the Parish Priest to be attentive to the sick, to the various pastoral activities, present in the parish and capable of working as part of a team.
He added, “A Parish Priest should be capable of working as a team and living in community and for the community.”
The fundamental mission of a Parish Priest before the people of God, the Angola Catholic Archbishop said, is to “give spiritual guidance to the community, to show people God, and to lead people to God.”
“The Parish Priest is a man of God, a servant of God to whom the Bishop entrusts the responsibility of spiritually guiding the community and leading people to God,” he reiterated.
The Local Ordinary of Luanda Archdiocese underscored the need for Parish Priests to “show people God, to lead people to God through the Gospel, to lead people to God through the witness of love.”
“Because love conquers all, because love endures all, love convinces everyone, love lifts everyone up, love is what St. Paul says harms no one,” he said, and added, “Only the Devil, only Satan, only witches are harmed by love.”
“Love harms no one, love is respectful, love is a fine thing, it’s a cautious reality, it’s a reality that always seeks the best and the good of what is loved. It tries not to hurt; it tries not to sell; it is patient; it is not hasty,” Archbishop Dias said.
Reflecting on the importance of newly erected Parish, the Archbishop of Luanda said, “The parish is this place, this community, where together we try to experience Jesus Christ; we try to meet him; we try to listen to him; we try to be advised by him, comforted by him, instructed by him.”
He continued, “We try to dust off and renew the seed of God in us, to make this new man develop in us.”
In a Parish Priest, Archbishop Dias said, a Parishioner should be able to see a “man created in the image of God, walking with me, being by my side every day and inspires me, advises me, comforts me and pampers me and leads me to open up to my brothers and sisters, because I am not alone.”
Source: Aciafrica
