Letter From the Pope to Cardinal Parolín on the Occasion of the Priestly Ordinations of the Faithful of the Prelature (September 5, 2020)
To his eminence Cardinal Pietro Parolin
Secretary of state
Vatican
Dear brother,
The priestly ordination that, in a few days, you are going to confer on 29 faithful of the Prelature of Opus Dei, prompts me to address these lines to you so that you can convey my congratulations. I join in the joy and gratitude to God Our Lord for the gift of the priesthood that they will receive. My congratulations extend especially to their parents and relatives, also in a particular way, to those who, because of the health emergency, will not be able to be present at the ordination.
I ask the new priests to consider , together with the greatness of the gift of the priesthood, the meaning of receiving it precisely in these moments of so much pain in the world, in which the presence of the suffering and merciful Christ is especially palpable; a presence that the Lord wants to be realized through his ministry. May they “invite Jesus into the boat of their lives. Give him your fears, so he can overcome them. Like the disciples, they will experience that, with Him on board, they will not be shipwrecked. Because this is the strength of God: to turn everything that happens to us, even the bad, into something good. And that, through their union with the Pope, they may always fulfill that aspiration of Saint Josemaría: “Omnes, cum Petro, ad Iesum per Mariam ”.
Please also convey my affectionate congratulations to dear Monsignor Fernando Ocáriz, Prelate of Opus Dei, with my hope that the Lord will continue to help him carry out his faithful and joyful service to the Prelature and to the entire Church, especially in this year of preparation for his priestly jubilee.
Dear Cardinal Parolin: thank you for representing me in this ordination and for your permanent and valuable availability as my immediate collaborator in the shepherding of the Church. I ask you to convey my Apostolic Blessing to the new priests, their families and all those taking part in the celebration.
Fraternally,
Francisco
Domus “Sanctae Marthae” , September 2, 2020.
Romana, n. 70, January-December 2020, p. 21-22.