Each year during Holy Week, priests in many dioceses are given an opportunity to renew the vows made at ordination. The Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 12:2, "Do not be conformed to this world." The J.B. Phillips paraphrase puts it vividly, "Do not let the world around you squeeze you into its own mold."

Clergy are as vulnerable as lay people to being squeezed into the world's mold, and that can damage their ministry as priests. In response to this pressure, there are seven areas we might consider:

1. Career Path When in the past I have announced a move, there have been people who have asked, "Is this an advance?" We can easily wonder whether we are moving up the ladder. But priesthood is a vocation, not a career. We were asked at ordination, "Do you believe that you are truly called by God and his church to the priesthood?" Paul described himself as "an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God" (Eph. 1:1). Priests need to remember they are "priests by the will of God."

2. Get results For the world, it is essential to sell. It is not necessary to be totally honest, as long as you sell. In order to get results or produce numbers, priests may be tempted to offer a watered-down, acceptable gospel and not talk about difficult areas for belief such as sin, the Virgin Birth or the Resurrection. Paul wrote, "We proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles" (1 Cor. 1:23). A priest's calling is not to be successful, but to be faithful in proclaiming the gospel.

3. Work that can be seen The world likes to see work being done. Time spent privately in prayer, in study of scripture or meditation, can be seen as stepping back from work. Having so much to do can easily become an excuse for not praying or not reading. Cosmo Gordon Lang, Archbishop of Canterbury earlier in this century, reflecting on his years of ministry as Archbishop of York and then of Canterbury, wrote, "Doing is a deadly thing. What is that much more of true value might have been done if I had cared less for doing and more for being. If the inner life had been kept more true, the outer life would have borne more fruit." To renew my ordination vows, I need to ask myself whether I have time to pray.

4. Affirm yourself In our world we think it important to teach our children to have self-confidence. They need to know they can do anything (within obvious limits) if they apply themselves to it. Priests cannot apply this to their ministry. Paul found his confidence not in himself, but in the Lord. He wrote, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Phil. 4:13).

We know that it is not the words of priests that transform bread and wine into the sacrament of the Lord's body and blood. That is the work of the Holy Spirit. Our confidence can never be in ourselves. When priests have made vows at ordination, they were not then applauded for being so great, but the bishop prayed, "May the Lord who has given you the will to do these things give you the grace and power to perform them."

5. Stand up for your rights - Sometimes the world has a way of saying, "If you don't look after yourself, no one else will." Priests are not that different from Jesus' disciples who looked for the chief places at Jesus' right and left hand in glory. On the road to Jerusalem the disciples did not wish to admit to Jesus that they had been arguing about who was the greatest. Whether we admit it openly or not, this can occupy our minds. Priests need regularly to remind themselves that the Jesus we follow "did not count equality with God something to be exploited, but emptied himself taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death - even death on a cross" (Phil. 2:6-8).

6. Be successful When I was a diocesan bishop a priest came to see me who had a very blessed ministry in a particular parish, and then moved to another parish where it seemed that nothing quite came together. Naturally there was some depression at the lack of success. It is difficult in such a situation to remember that faithfulness is what is required, whether or not it brings success. God brings blessings in his own timing to those who are faithful.

Remember these words of Paul: "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Cor. 12:9).

7. Feel free to express your feelings A 20th-century man or woman is expected to be "with it," not to be repressed. But although Christians are called to a perfect liberty, that is different than merely responding to all inner desires. The Christian is called to reflect the holiness of God. The ordination question is clear: "Will you do your best to pattern your life in accordance with the teachings of Christ, so that you may be a wholesome example to your people?"

Subtly, without realizing what is happening, we may be squeezed by the world into its own standards. Paul, after warning of this danger, goes on to write, "But be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God - what is good and acceptable and perfect" (Rom. 12:2).

The most powerful aid to this discernment for priests is soaking themselves in the study of scripture. That is why the question is asked at ordination, "Will you be diligent in the reading and study of the Holy Scriptures, and in seeking the knowledge of such things as may make you a stronger and more able minister of Christ?"

A yearly renewal of ordination vows can help priests refocus their ministries. It can help them recommit to Christ's ministry. This renewal is made in the context of the Eucharist, thanking God that he would feed us, would dwell in us, and so enable us to carry out not our ministries, but his ministry. o