Bishop Nicolas Brouwet: The Heart of a Priest Is Made for Love

The heart of a priest is made for love.

He does so in the manner and

following the example of Christ the

Bridegroom, of Christ who gave 

Himself entirely to humanity in love

- Bishop Nicolas Brouwet

In an interview with Monsignor Nicolas Brouwet, the Bishop of Tarbes and Lourdes reflected on the beautiful book about priestly celibacy co-written by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI and Cardinal Robert Sarah. The interview first appeared online at L'Homme nouveau on 3 February 2020 and was translated by Zachary Thomas for publication at The Catholic World Report on 5 February 2020. According to Cardinal Robert Sarah on his Facebook post dated 4th of February, "The interview of Archbishop Nicolas Brouwet, bishop of Tarbes and Lourdes, perfectly matches the intentions of our book From the depths of our hearts. I want to thank him for the precision and importance of his magnificent reflection."

I have read this heart-touching interview several times and what captures my attention most is the sentence, "The heart of a priest is made for love." The word "love" here does not mean stealing from incapacitated individuals to give his wife a lofty lifestyle or buying his wife a $200K Lamborghini as an anniversary gift. It does not mean stealing from the orphans or taking money from the Church's charity account to give his family a good life. Since all the Toms, Dicks, and Harrys on the streets want to give the best to their wife and children, there is nothing so special about this kind of man. Since his love is only intended for his own family, his congregations cannot feel it. The word "love" certainly has a greater meaning if the priest follows in the footsteps of the celibate Jesus and comes to offer salvation to the world. According to Bishop Nicolas Brouwet, this is only possible if he can "give himself entirely to humanity in love and his heart is ready to offer itself for all, without exclusivity and without preference. He should be impartial so that he can go to everyone with a free heart, without attachment as this is precisely what the faithful appreciate."

The question which arises here is whether a married priest can give himself entirely to humanity and offer his heart for all without exclusivity and preference? Can a married priest be impartial and treat everyone fairly with a free heart, without attachment?" As stated in the Bible, "The unmarried man cares for the Lord's business; his aim is to please the Lord. But the married man cares for worldly things; his aim is to please his wife; and he has a divided mind (1 Corinthians 7:32-33). For a married man, it is always "family first." What does "family first" mean? It means that he is selfish and only cares about his wife and children first. No matter what happens, his priority is always his family. Of course there is nothing wrong being a good husband and father but can the faithful appreciate a family man priest who values his family above all else?

During my college days, I used to visit a home for the  former drug addicts and they told me that their pastor was very concerned about them before he got married. But, ever since he got married, he seldom came to see them. They saw even less of him after the birth of his first child. When I visited the home one Sunday,  my friends also invited the pastor and he brought his wife and child with him. What I saw that day was a family man who kept talking proudly about his wife and baby. Even the  former drugs addicts ended up serving her and the baby! No doubt he is a good husband and father but can the faithful appreciate a family man who is only concerned about his family?

The poor and the simple are not stupid. According to Cardinal Sarah, "Through the eyes of faith, they are able to discern in the celibate priest the presence of Christ, the Bridegroom in His Church." Deep in their hearts, they can feel whether the priest is really there to serve them or is he merely taking advantage of his position to secure himself and his family a good life. Needless to say, it is difficult to discern the presence of Christ in the latter as his heart is only made to love his family.

Bishop Nicolas Brouwet also mentioned that "sometimes priests are reproached for not being part of the world because, not being married, they do not know the realities of life." They are also criticized for not knowing how to love because they are not married and therefore cannot give advise on family matters. However, it should be noted that one does not have to get married in order to know the realities of life and the meaning of love. Similarly, the capability to give advice on family matters does not depend on whether one is married or not. I always give advice to divorcees and single mothers to help them live their lives again but I don't have to be a divorcee or single mother myself to do that. Being single does not deter me from observing the world around me and learning the realities of life from the experiences of others. I also give advice to rape victims (my students) but this does not mean that I have to be a rape victim before I can give good advice. As for the capability to love, may I ask what kind of love can be greater than the love of our celibate priests who have given themselves totally and completely to humanity? Who can love better than our celibate priests who have given themselves entirely to the Church for our salvation?

The celibate priest bears witness to the 

presence of Christ who gives himself 

entirely to the Church, as a husband to

His Bride - Bishop Nicolas Brouwet

Is the life of a married priest a reflection of Jesus' life? Jesus, the celibate priest, prophet and king has offered himself to His Father for our sins and sacrificed his life for humankind because his heart was made for love. Can anyone imagine what would have happened if Jesus had said, "Father, please spare me my life. I want to make a lot of money to give my wife and children a lofty lifestyle. I want to take care of my wife and children. I cannot die on the cross. Family firstlah." If these were his words prior to the crucifixion,  Christianity wouldn't have existed at all.

The Priest is subtracted from the ties

of the world and given to God, and

so from God, he must be available

to others, for all 

- Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI

(Source: Cardinal Robert Sarah's FB

Dated 4 Feb 2020)

We all know about Father Damien, the Belgian priest with a heart made for love who volunteered to serve the lepers on the Island of Molokai even though he knew that he would contract the disease himself and die as a leper. Instead of taking over his family business, he entered the novitiate of the Congregation of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Mary in Leuven and was ordained to the priesthood on 21 May 1864 in Honolulu. At Molokai, he had to bear with all the unpleasantness of leprosy with the stench of rotting flesh pervading the atmosphere. The lepers salivated, spat on the ground, and coughed constantly but Father Damien did not mind sharing their meals. He even wrote to his brother, Pamphile, telling him that he was the happiest missionary in the world. Needless to say, this is the kind of priest that we will always respect, love, honor and cherish. He had come to serve the world just as Jesus did without exclusivity and preference. Father Damien was canonized a saint by Pope Benedict XVI on 11 October 2009.

Many Malaysians will remember Father O.C. Lim, the eldest son of a very rich man who gave up his five figure monthly income as a lawyer to become a Jesuit Priest. This is what we call "true love" as he has relinquished this material world to serve God and humanity. Who on earth would willingly give up his great inheritance and successful career for the priesthood? Who will exchange his imported car with a second-hand car owned by the Church? How many men would willingly give up marriage to become a priest? Father OC Lim did and this is the kind of priest who will always remain a hero in our hearts. Each time his name is mentioned, we will be reminded of his love for us. Yes, his heart is made for love and we will cherish his love forever.

In this materialistic world today, our celibate priests are our rare and precious treasures. The faithful will always appreciate their immense unconditional love, selflessness and sacrifices. These unsung heroes will always be respected, honored, loved and cherished because they have a heart made for love and we are able to discern in them the presence of Christ.

Many thanks to Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI and Cardinal Robert Sarah for their beautiful book about priestly celibacy. I pray that the Catholic Church will not turn into a profit making human institution for married men who only care about giving their family a lofty lifestyle. If that happens, it is better to stay at home and preach to myself. How scary! No, I don't want that to happen in my lifetime (You may also like to read Cardinal Robert Sarah: The Christian Priesthood Is in Mortal Danger).

References:

1.  French bishop reflects on priestly celibacy book by Cardinal Sarah, Benedict XVI. The Catholic World Report.
2.  Cardinal Robert Sarah's Facebook
3.  The New American Bible. New York: Thomas Nelson Publishers.