Preotul cu „suflet dogoritor de credință”. Note de portret filocalic în gândirea Părintelui Dumitru Stăniloae
The priest with a "soul burning with faith": Notes on a philokalic portrait in the thought of Father Dumitru Stăniloae

Author(s): Cristian-Alexandru BARNEA
Subject(s): Christian Theology and Religion, Theology and Religion
Published by: Editura Doxologia
Keywords: holiness; prayer; Christian virtues; priesthood; ministry; pastoral care; vocation; philocalical life;
Summary/Abstract: A priest's work of bringing people to Christ makes it imperative that his life should revolve around the One that he serves. Father Dumitru Stăniloae's desire to bring Christ into the hearts of students, of people in general, is a red thread that links his life to his entire work. The attention he gives to the priest springs from the desire that the servant be a worthy worker of the Lord. This is why, in his writings, he approaches a variety of topics: the sublimity of ministering, without isolating himself in idealism; a priest’s realism and heroism, without letting himself be overwhelmed by pragmatism deprived of perspective; the priest's home, family and household. But the concern for the priest's spiritual life, for his attention to the soul, to faith and the fruit-bearing joys born of face-to-face encounters with his faithful, is persistently present. Pastorship fulfills its purpose when the priest, animated by the deepest and purest desires to attain holiness, sacrifices himself to Christ out of love for his parishioners, in a courageous familiarity with their afflictions and fulfillments. The priest is the one who shines like a consuming fire, who gives off heat without burning, and who changes lives and enkindles hearts through his love for God.

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