Pope Francis shared some pastoral wisdom for Priests today, which I think are words remembering:
In the first place, he told them to support and take care of families. Families, he said, “need to be supported, to live holily their covenant of love and life, especially those going through moments of crisis or difficulty.”
“In the second place, and thinking of the forthcoming Jubilee of Mercy,” the Pope said, dedicate much time to the Sacrament of Reconciliation. “Please, be great forgivers. It does me good to recall a friar of Buenos Aires who is a great forgiver. He is almost my age and sometimes he is gripped by scruples for having forgiven too much. And one day I asked him: ‘And what do you do when you are gripped by scruples?’ He replied, ‘I go to the chapel, I look at the Tabernacle, and I say: Lord, forgive me, today I forgave too much, but let it be clear that you gave me the bad example.’ May you be witnesses of mercy and the tenderness of God in your communities.”
I love that last part about the Priest forgiving too much. May I always dispense God’s mercy with great generosity!
In Domino Spera! 