December 1, 1976

THE DIVINE HUSBANDMAN

The vocation to the priesthood is a mysterious seed of supernatural life, sown by God in the soul of the chosen one, so that the latter, under the guidance of his parents or of persons appointed by God, for this delicate work of gestation, may make the seed mature, until it attains its complete development.

For the benefit of the soul that carries within it this precious seed, so precious that no pearl of the world can equal it, one should make known to him the precious value of the gift; he should be guided to prayer; he should be oriented in his devotion to Jesus, really present in the mystery of infinite humility, wisdom and power, the Eucharistic mystery; he should be decidedly oriented to love, and to prayer to the Holy Ghost and to the Queen of Apostles, so that she may be the one who brings this vocation to its complete maturity.

In the period of gestation of one's vocation, the chosen soul should also be educated in the mystery of the Church, of which he is, and will be, a part and a living member, with vital functions.

Educators are collaborators with God

In general, God works by means of secondary causes; hence the reason for seminaries, religious orders and congregations, with the specific task of entering into action upon vocations, so that, by means of sacred and profane instruction, as instruments and collaborators of God, predisposed in the design of divine economy, to complete the formation and maturation of vocations, they may lead these vocations up to priestly ordination.

It was already told to you before, that it is not licit for anyone to disturb the order and harmony established by God, in nature and in grace; it was already said that to do so is a very serious rebellion against the Father, a rebellion that cannot remain with impunity, constituting a grave fault of pride and of arrogance; hence the grave responsibility of educators, of all educators, but particularly of those educators called for the most delicate work in my Church. For the latter, solid sanctity and perfection of life are required; it is evident that if this sanctity and perfection do not exist, they cannot communicate it to others; it is not possible to give, what one does not possess.

This sanctity and perfection of life contain within them an unquestionable orthodoxy, total fidelity to the Supreme Pontiff, and the wealth of many other Christian virtues. Educators should be persons beyond all suspicion, esteemed for their uprightness of life; in a word, they should be models of true Christian life.

Tremendous responsibility of educators who demolish faith

The pastors of souls have a grave responsibility in choosing the educators in their seminary. It is better to have a seminary closed down, than one entrusted to those who demolish the faith and Christian virtues, as unfortunately happens in many seminaries of our days.

Woe to those who have taken upon themselves the tremendous responsibility of a false and mistaken selection; by their incapacity and weakness, by their baseness or fear, they have become accomplices in the destructive work of Satan, of destroying souls!

Bishops and-educators will have to render a most rigorous account before divine justice, for all the evil of which they have been responsible, and let them not think that they will find mercy, for they have sacrificed the highest good of souls, for their own sake and for the sake of their own prestige; the misled priests and the souls ruined by them, will rise up as witnesses, before the tribunal that allows no appeal.

My son, do not be astonished this time, if I am repeating things that I already taught you before, for it is necessary, my son, for all this that I tell you, to be written and spread; the welfare of my Church demands it.

They respond with diplomacy and glacial coldness

How many have deplored the tragic situation of seminaries and religious orders, infested with heresies! How many victims have offered and immolated themselves, so that a remedy may be obtained for such damage and such bitter disorder! But their sacrifice has been of no use, to change the glacial and diplomatic coldness of those who, for a thousand reasons, should have been extremely sensitive to this problem, of the greatest importance for the vital functioning of the Church.

The priests of the regenerated Church will have a very different vision of the nature, function and finality of their priesthood; they should be, and in reality, they will be, genuine co-redeemers, that is to say, constructors of my Kingdom in souls.

Now I bless you, son; do not fear; write everything. Put aside apprehensions; I will always be near you.