John T. Fagan
Pastoral Concern {or Priests
Priests must exy1erience the love the Church has for them, if they are to continue to fJ>'OW personally and professionally. A "Concerned other priest" may be the channel of this experience.
A priest whom many of us considered a most effective minister of the gospel wrote shortly before his death: "When I look back upon the seventy years of my own life, I see quite clearly that I owe my present inner happiness, my peace, my confidence and my joy essentially to one single fact; I am certain that I am infinitely loved by God." He had in some way experienced the love of God. This had provided him with a priesthood of fulfillment. He had come to a wisdom, a certitude. This experience of the love of God, the felt concern of Jesus for the priest, seems to make a great difference in our attitude. We are not so naive as to think that we can do away with misunderstanding, discouragement. failure, or loneliness. But can we hope to experience the love of God? We believe with Saint John that "love consists in 205