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Ministry: A Theological, Pastoral Handbook

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Certainly the major text in the field of pastoral theology for our times must be that of the late, venerable and very Reverend Father Edward Schillebeeckx entitled also Ministry: A Case for Change. Please examine carefully as well his The Church With a Human Face: A New and Expanded Theology of Ministry, essential footsteps for all who minister.

Here from the prolific and Reverend Father Richard P. McBrien, professor of Roman Catholic theology at Notre Dame University, we find a briefer yet no less comprehensive text, under 120 pages, which may be more accessible to the general reader while no less profound, thought-provoking and vocation evoking.

Receiving his Doctorate of Divinity through the Gregorian Institute in Rome, Father McBrien has for forty years written in English several of the standard texts in Roman Catholic theology, including Catholicism: New Study Edition--Completely Revised and Updated and edited the very useful and faithful The HarperCollins Encyclopedia of Catholicism.

Here based upon his deep studies and experience as profssor and as priest we may come gratefully to understand more full the mystery of pastoral ministry.

The four sections of this theological treatise on ministry first of all define ministry, and secondly trace the history of ministry in the New Testament and beyond.

The third section asks what qualities a minister needs (e.g., on page 57 we read that A candidate who claims to believe in Jesus Christ should show some signs of being a forgiving, compassionate and generous person). This section also examines very helpfully the Theological Virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity (p. 59: Charity is lived faith and lived hope. It is love of God and love of neighbor, that is, the total dedication and devotion to the welfare of the other, regardless of the sacrifices required and regardless of personal cost.).

This third section then unfolds the moral or Cardinal Virtues, which are Prudence, Justice (p. 62: A minister or ministerial candidate who is unjust in his or her dealings with others is obviously not a fit person for ministry. But neither is one who is indifferent to issues of justice or who simply doesn't get involved when others are victimized by unfair practices and procedures, whether inside or outside the Church.), Temperance (including very strong prohibitions against smoking tobacco, and also this note on page 63: Church members who eat too much,drink too much, or are consumed with lust should not be encouraged to pursue what they believe to be a ministerial vocation . . .) and fortitude, which bears this passage spanning pages 64 and 65:

Those with fortitude cannot act without charity. Indeed Christians, and Christian ministers in particular, are always called to a life of MERCY (emphasis in the original). Mercy, unlike justice, gives to others MORE (emphasis in the original) than they deserve or have a right to. Ministers and ministerial candidates must be Christians who practice both the corporal works of mercy - feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, clothing the naked, sheltering the homeless, visiting the sick, ransoming the captive and burying the dead - and the spiritual works of mercy - instructing the ignorant, counseling the doubtful, admonishing the sinner, bearing wrongs patiently, forgiving offenses, comforting the afflicted, and praying for the living and the dead. Mercy reminds us that our obligations to others go beyond even the demands of social justice. It goes without saying that a merciless minister is a contradiction in terms.

Clearly this text by rather Reverend Father Richard P. McBrien, so slightly glimpsed here, holds much of great importance for our Church even now, twenty two years after its publication, and I hope it even now most mercifully falls into the hands of every Catholic, including above all our American archbishops and cardinals, and Pope, all in short who minister our Church, who is all of us.

This book is another good example of what Richard McBrien does best: synthesize the best of contemporary theological thinking. Here he offers a concise overview of the history, theology and spirituality of ministry. It is actually a summary of an earlier video series he produced.

I am very pleased with this book. While Richard McBrien is writing this book from the perspective of a Catholic Priest, he writes from his heart and in a spirit of encourage for all people to understand the role each person can have in ministry today and in the future.