THE PRIESTLY MINISTRY IS A GIFT FOR ALL TIMES

VATICAN CITY, MAY 18, 2000 (VIS) - This morning the Pope presided at a celebration of the Eucharist in St. Peter's Square, which was full of pilgrims for the occasion of the Jubilee of Priests and the celebration of the Pope's 80th birthday. More than 80 cardinals, 300 archbishops and bishops and 6,000 priests from all over the world concelebrated with the Holy Father.

In his homily, the Pope spoke of priestly ministry to which, he said, "the Eucharist, above all, links us. ... We are all participants (in the priesthood) and today we wish to raise a choral cry of thanks to God for this extraordinary gift. A gift for all times and all people, of all races and cultures. A gift that renews itself in the Church thanks to unchanging divine mercy and the generous and faithful response of so many fragile human beings. A gift that never ceases to amaze those who receive it."

"After more than 50 years of priestly life, I feel the living need within me to praise and thank the Lord for His immense goodness. At this moment, my thoughts go to the Upper Room in Jerusalem where, in the course of my recent pilgrimage to the Holy Land, I was able to celebrate Mass."

The Holy Father particularly recalled "priests who are ill, alone or tried by difficulties. I also think of those priests who, for various reasons, no longer practice the sacred ministry. ... For them too, I pray fervently and invite everyone to recall them in prayer so that, through regularly obtained dispensation, they may maintain alive their commitment of Christian coherence and ecclesial communion."

The Pope expressed his thanks to Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy, for the congratulations he had offered in the name of all those present "on this most significant day for me". He also greeted those gathered in the square, saying: "I clasp you all to my heart."

"We are called," he continued, "to contribute in different ways to the formation of the community of the People of God, wherever Providence takes us." We offer a witness "that can, if necessary, extend to the scattering of our own blood, as it did for not a few of our brothers in the course of the last century."

In his words to the Pope at the beginning of Mass, Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos indicated that "veneration, admiration and gratitude would lead us to make a long speech on Your Holiness' witness, life and ministerial work. We feel that we are led by a man of God who has conquered love and respect beyond all human barriers."

At the end of Mass, Pope John Paul greeted all of the priests present in St. Peter's Square and throughout the world in French, English, Spanish, German, Portuguese and Polish.

He told the French-speaking priests that he hoped that their "presence in Rome will reaffirm your faith and your sense of the universal Church."

"I greet the English-speaking priests taking part in today's Jubilee celebration," the Pope continued, "especially those marking their silver or golden anniversaries of priestly ordination and those who, like me, are celebrating their 80th birthday."

Speaking Spanish he urged priests "to continue your generous and happy commitment to the ministry you have received, knowing that the Lord, who begins all good works, will Himself bring them to conclusion."

He then greeted the priests from Poland in his native tongue, thanking them and their fellow priests in Poland "for the fidelity to your vocation and to the Church. The Church counts on you and on new priestly vocations.

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