The Priest is the lover of souls

November 2024 by Fr. Rob Mulderink

Since this is my first time writing this column, I should give a short introduction. I have been a priest for five years. For my first three years, I served as associate pastor at the Basilica of St. Adalbert and St. Mary Parish in Grand Rapids, as well as co-chaplain of West Catholic High School. Then I was asked to serve as pastor at St. Luke University Parish in Allendale and as chaplain to the students at Grand Valley State University, where I have been for the last two years. I am honored by Bishop Walkowiak’s appointment of me as associate director for priestly vocations, alongside Father Stephen Durkee, and am eager to serve God and the Church in the formation of seminarians.

I’m the second of seven children and grew up in West Michigan. Growing up, my family prayed together a few times each day (besides meals), and we were deeply invested in our parish. I believe these actions influenced my decision to enter seminary after high school. I was formed at Saint John Vianney College Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota, and Mundelein Seminary near Chicago. I’m handy like my dad and love books like my mom. I stay close to all my siblings and their families, and love being the priest uncle to my 10 nieces and nephews.

November is the month when the Church on earth turns her attention to an important, unseen part of the family of God, the souls in purgatory. We purposefully remember and pray for those who have died, even though it can bring pain and grief, because Jesus has conquered death, and love is worth pain. It is a sober, gentle, holy month.

It may seem like an odd connection but November’s focus on the holy souls is a very appropriate theme for reflecting on priesthood, because the priest is a lover of souls. Love means to will the good of the other. Jesus, the Lord and lover of souls (cf. Wis 11:26), cares for us through the pastoral ministry of priests in the Church, the cura animarum (the care of souls). Just as Jesus’ heart and service are warm with the fire of love, so the priest’s heart and service are fueled by love.

Conformed to Jesus, the priest is intent on the good of our souls, the part of us that lives after our mortal bodies die. Every act of service by a priest is directed to our eternal life, not just our earthly life. If we do not remember this, the priest and his actions become impossible to understand. Jesus himself becomes impossible to understand. Certainly, we are all called to pay attention to our souls, our spiritual well-being and the eternal good of others. But when we slip, when we neglect our souls, we depend on priests never to forget.

As you pray this month for your loved ones who have died, please pray also for priests, living and dead. We are uplifted by your prayers.

I end this article with the last half of a Prayer for Priests by St. Therese of Lisieux because she recognizes with gratitude how the Lord has loved her soul through specific priests:

“… But above all, I recommend to you the priests dearest to me: the priest who baptized me; the priests who absolved me from my sins; the priests at whose Masses I assisted and who gave me your Body and Blood in Holy Communion; the priests who taught and instructed me; all the priests to whom I am indebted in any other way. O Jesus, keep them all close to your heart, and bless them abundantly in time and in eternity. Amen.”

Father Robert Mulderink is associate director of priestly vocations for the Diocese of Grand Rapids.