” “"Practice states it: whenever the priests, due to their big tasks, let being with the Lord begin to ebb, they lose, despite their maybe heroic work, the inner strength that sustains them. What they do becomes an empty activism. Being with Him how can one do it?". The question was asked by Benedict XVI during today’s Vespers in the Basilica of Saint Anne, at Altötting, his birthplace. According to the Pontiff, "the first and the most important thing for a priest is daily Mass, always celebrated with deep inner participation". Then, a basic way of being with the Lord is "the Liturgy of the Hours: in it, we pray as men who need dialogue with God, involving at the same time all the other people who have no time or possibility for such a prayer". Add to this the practice of the Eucharistic Adoration, for which Benedict XVI recalls the parable of the treasure hidden in the field: "In the Host, He is present, the true treasure, always unreachable to us". Finally, the Pope dwelt on the subject of callings: "God’s harvest is large and waits for labour: in the so-called Third World Latin America, Africa, Asia people are waiting for heralds to bring the Gospel of peace, the message of God made flesh. But also in the so-called West, here in Germany, as well as in the vastnesses of Russia, the harvest could be large indeed".” “
