Transcript:
Paul Thies: Well, Your Excellency, thank you so much for joining me again. Today, we’re going to be talking about your latest book, Man of God: The Catholic Priest and the Cornerstones of His Life. It’s a beautiful book. There are a lot of spiritual treasures in there, so I’m really looking forward to unpacking that with you.
But before we begin, may I ask you to be so kind as to bless us and bless our conversation?
Bishop Athanasius Schneider: In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti, Amen.
Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum. Benedicta tu in mulieribus, et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Iesus.
Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc et in hora mortis nostrae, Amen.
Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto. Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in saecula saeculorum, Amen.
In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti, Amen.
Paul Thies: Well, thank you so much. I really appreciate you joining me. I know how busy you are. I wanted to start by asking: what was the impetus for bringing forward this book? There are so many great treasures in here, and you have a lot of chapters about the various loves that the priest has, his love for souls, his love for the Catholic Mass, and, of course, his love for our Blessed Mother.
What was the initial motivation for putting this book together?
Bishop Athanasius Schneider: It was a practical motivation. Two years ago, I preached a retreat for priests in Italy, close to Rome. Afterward, the priests whom I gave the retreat asked for it to be published in Italy. It was published there, and then other people suggested publishing it in English as well. The intention was to offer spiritual help for priests in their lives, and so I published it in the United States with this same goal, to strengthen the priestly life.
Paul Thies: It’s very beautiful, and it harkens back to the timeworn treasures of our faith. When someone encounters the book, it’s filled with Scripture and writings from various saints and theologians. The chapters include: The Priest Loves God, The Priest Loves the Catholic Faith, The Priest Loves the Priesthood of Christ, The Priest Loves Souls, and others on humility, chastity, the Holy Mass, the tabernacle, the confessional, the cross, the holy angels, and the Blessed Virgin Mary.
It’s really a profession of faith. It strengthens and clearly articulates why these things are important, like why chastity and celibacy are important to the priesthood, which is something under debate, especially during the Synod on Synodality.
But you go back and anchor it beautifully in the writings of the saints and the magisterium. Can you share your thought process in writing it, and why you included the spiritual citations that you did?
Bishop Athanasius Schneider: The Catholic tradition about the priesthood and priestly life is so rich. In our time, many of these treasures are forgotten. Therefore, my intention was not to invent something new, but simply to open this treasure we already have from the Fathers of the Church, the saints, the doctors of the Church, and many spiritual writers who left us such beautiful and precious meditations on the various aspects of the priestly life.
Paul Thies: It must have been a real labor of love. The citations and the way you pulled it all together are astounding. What is your hope for the priests and seminarians who will encounter this work?
Bishop Athanasius Schneider: My hope is that they recognize and become ever more aware of what they are. I summarize the priestly identity with the title I gave the book: Man of God. With these few words, everything is said.
When we hear the phrase “man of God,” even an ordinary person instinctively thinks: this must be a special man, someone completely consecrated and dedicated to God, a holy man whose first concern is with God’s things, with eternity, and so on.
In our day, there is a great temptation toward worldliness among priests, to adapt themselves to the style of life and the thinking of the world. Seminarians and priests must be reminded again that they are men of God.
Paul Thies: Which means they are set apart. There is something special there. In the chapter on humility, you speak about combating worldliness. In the chapter on chastity, you do a beautiful job explaining the positive aspects of celibacy, not just the “thou shalt not,” but how it’s a gift grounded in love.
A man of God, as I understand it from the book, is a man who loves. He is called to a great love and to the gift of his whole life. All these great saints who came before us show that, as you said earlier. We don’t need to invent anything new. It’s already been handed down to us. The Church doesn’t need to be reformed. She is already beautiful and perfect as she is.
Although the book is about the life of a Catholic priest, I can say as a layperson that I got a lot out of it. How do you envision the laity benefiting from this book?
Bishop Athanasius Schneider: The laity must also become aware of the dignity and identity of the priesthood. The more they understand the great dignity of the priesthood, the more they will respect priests, love them as spiritual fathers, and pray for them that God may protect them from temptation, from sin, from infidelity.
And not only pray. I would say it’s also necessary to offer spiritual sacrifices for the sanctity and fidelity of priests. This fidelity and sanctity depend, in part, on the prayers and sacrifices offered for them by the faithful.
Paul Thies: I’m so glad you said that. In this day and age, fidelity to the one true faith handed down to us by the apostles and saints is under attack, from enemies both outside and, unfortunately, inside the Church.
Those priests and bishops who remain faithful to the magisterium and the true teaching need our support, our sacrifices, and our love. They, like yourself, strive to live heroic virtue and show us what it really means to be a Catholic priest, not to be seduced by the world.
Now, in your research for this book, were there any specific elements that stood out to you personally and spoke to your own vocation in a meaningful way?
Bishop Athanasius Schneider: Of course. Every day, we must be reminded again of our first love, the first calling when Christ called each one of us to follow Him, just as He called the apostles.
We must have an apostolic spirit, like the apostles who followed Christ and were completely dedicated to Him, to the Gospel, and to the salvation of souls.
The priest, and even more the bishop who holds the fullness of the priesthood, must live this out. What I wrote about the priest applies even more to the bishops and to the Pope, who is the highest priest on earth.
As St. Paul reminded Timothy: “Stir up the gift of God which is in you by the laying on of my hands.” We must renew this gift of the Holy Spirit.
Paul Thies: That’s beautiful. And what a message for our hierarchy to lead from the front, not from behind. To take these treasures and teachings of Christ, handed down to us, and take them to heart. To live heroic virtue and model it for their priests and seminarians.
The book is Man of God: The Catholic Priest and the Cornerstones of His Life, published by our friends at Emmaus Road Publishing. Highly recommended. It’s beautiful and rich with citations and meditations, profitable for both religious and laity alike.
Thank you, Your Excellency, for joining me today. I know how busy you are. Would you be so kind as to close us with a prayer?
Bishop Athanasius Schneider: Let us pray for our priests, for their sanctification, and for the return of those who have gone astray and live unfaithfully to Christ. Let us pray for them in a spirit of reparation for their sins and for their conversion. And for those living faithfully, let us pray that they may be confirmed and persevere.
In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti, Amen.
Pater noster, qui es in caelis, sanctificetur nomen tuum. Adveniat regnum tuum. Fiat voluntas tua, sicut in caelo et in terra.
Panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie. Et dimitte nobis debita nostra, sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris.
Et ne nos inducas in tentationem, sed libera nos a malo. Amen.
Dominus vobiscum.
Paul Thies: Et cum spiritu tuo.
Bishop Athanasius Schneider: Et benedictio Dei omnipotentis, Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti, descendat super vos et maneat semper. Amen.
Praised be Jesus Christ.
Paul Thies: Amen. King of endless glory. Amen. Thank you, Your Excellency.