A Heroic Priest And Witness To Hope

The Parish Priest of St Helen's in Ongar, Essex, Fr Graham Smith, is among those proposing that a former parish priest, Fr Thomas Byles, be put forward as a candidate for canonisation. Fr Byles is, of course, the heroic priest who prepared the doomed passengers of the Titanic for death, twice refusing a place in the lifeboats so to be with those who were going to die, hearing confession, giving absolution, encouraging them and praying for and with them. In the midst of all the panic - and indeed apathy of some, he offered hope to those about to die, commending them to the care of Our Lady as he recited the rosary. Here was an example of a priest who did indeed have the "smell of the sheep" about him and a perfect fulfillment of the Gospel's man who lays down his life for his friends.

I wrote a little piece about him a few years ago on the centenary of the Titanic's sinking, and there is a wonderful article on him in the Catholic Herald from the same time, well worth reading. Rereading that Herald article I am filled with admiration again for this man: here was a true priest, a courageous priest, a priest who manifested all that is good, heroic and holy in the sacred ministry. A priest who is indeed worthy of being raised to the altars. 

As I mentioned in a post a couple of days ago, Pope Francis is open to suggestions that arrive in the post, and he is keen to offer new Saints to the Church - he holds the record and has invoked his right to dispense with miracles in order to beatify or canonise individuals in order to give the Church heroic examples of the Gospel - surely Fr Byles would inspire him in this regard? So let us support Fr Smith and his colleagues in their efforts to have a Cause started.

Now, the question: was Fr Byles a confessor or a martyr? When he heard of Fr Byle's heroic sacrifice, Pope St Pius X said that he was "a martyr of the Church", could a Cause be introduced to have him declared a martyr and thereby dispensing the need for a miracle for beatification? Traditionally his death would fall under the category of "martyr of charity" and in the past such figures were put among the heroic virtue Causes and so required a miracle before glorification. That may well apply to Fr Byles, as Fr Smith suggests. So prayer for miracles and favours would be needed. That said, a Cause for a group of nuns, six Sisters of the Poor, who heroically offered their lives to treat victims of the Ebola virus in 1996 has been introduced as a martyr Cause, so things may be shifting with regard to categorization.  

Fr Joseph Benedikt Peruschitz and Fr Juozas Montvila

If Fr Byles's cause is introduced, surely the other heroic priests of the Titanic should also be included, the Benedictine Fr Joseph Benedikt Peruschitz, who had to endure the mockery of some passengers as he was administering absolution to those about to die, and the young Fr Juozas Montvila who, by the time he arrived on the ship, had already endured persecution for his faith in his native Lithuania. My proposal would be to form one Cause for the three as a group. If permitted to go forward as martyrs then a group Cause would be normal, but if a heroic virtue Cause, then, taking the cue from the Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order, they could be put forward as group of confessors and a single miracle needed for beatification and another for canonisation.

Let us remember this intention in our prayers. Given the scandals and the difficulties many priests face, Fr Byles and his companions offer us priests and laity an edifying example of holy priesthood and faithful Christian discipleship, a discipleship immersed in faith, hope and love even in the face of panic, horror and anguish. How many of those Titanic passengers died in peace thanks to the sacrifice of these holy men? Many I am sure.

Here is a website dedicated to Fr Byles.

A Modest Proposal For Priests

Today is the feast of St Charles of Mount Argus, Ireland's most recent Saint (and only the fifth Irish Saint to be canonised, and only the second since the Council of Trent - I call him Irish, even though he was Dutch because he became "more Irish than the Irish themselves"). I have blogged on St Charles before, so I am not going to give a biography. However I would like to reflect for a moment on a possibility, what I might call, after Swift, a modest proposal.

I believe that St Charles might well be an ideal candidate for Patron Saint of the Irish Clergy. Why do I say that? Surely, you might ask, priests already have a patron in St Jean-Marie Vianney. Yes, we do, the holy Cure of Ars is the universal patron of all priests. However, following the example of our English brothers, we could also have a national patron. St Thomas a Becket is the patron saint of the English clergy, his heroism in defence of the Church and the faith is offered to the priests of England as a model for their priesthood.

In a similar way St Charles could be offered to us as our patron. His ministry was one of humble service to the people of Dublin and beyond. Living his priestly vocation in simplicity and selflessness he was renowned for his offering of Holy Mass which was nothing short of mystical - he celebrated Mass like St Pio of Pietrelcina. He spent hours in the confessional, gently guiding souls, and he spent most of his day blessing the sick and the poor who came to him. Prayer was at the heart of his life and he nurtured a life of loving fraternity with the members of his community. Devoted to the Passion of the Lord he carried his crosses with courage and patience, and his deep devotion to Our Lady gave him an ever more loving heart and tender disposition. Such virtues are worth venerating and living in the priesthood.

But why, some might ask, should Charles of Mount Argus, a Dutchman and a religious be offered as a patron for Irish priests? Surely an Irishman would be better and most importantly a secular priest. Why not St Oliver Plunkett? And why not? St Oliver was a priest of my diocese, one who, like St Thomas a Becket was martyred for the faith and his fidelity to the See of Peter. However, I see providence in the canonisation of St Charles: he was raised up at the very time the priesthood in Ireland was torn apart, demoralised and disgraced after the dreadful revelations of child abuse. This is one of the reasons, I think, his glorification went unnoticed by many - we were all so caught up in the awful events that were unfolding that other Church events did not seem to register. Yet, as I noted at the time, St Charles was raised up in our midst. Perhaps this was a kairos moment, a sign from God to the priests to our land at a moment of profound suffering for many.

Another reason is that St Charles is the most modern of our priestly Saints and his ministry was carried out in very much the same way as many of us minister today. His priestly life, which we know in detail, was ordinary - there were no great dramatic events as in the life of St Oliver. He lived out his priestly ministry quietly enough, his heroism emerging from his daily generosity to God and the people in his care. This is like so many of our priests in Ireland: hardworking, simple men who get up early in the morning, work throughout the day, most of it hidden work, unknown even by many of their parishioners, and then falling into bed often very late. It is a life that can wear a man down if he is not careful, if he does not set time aside for prayer, meals and recreation. St Charles's ordered life of prayer, meals, recreation and work can remind us secular priests that order and balance are vital for the priestly life. 

But why a religious? Well first of all a priest is a priest, and priestly life lived well, heroically well, is a model for priests regardless of the habit or cassock he wears. Besides, his spirituality of the Passion of the Lord, part of the charism of the Passionist Congregation, is one we priests need to nurture in our spiritual lives, after all we are reminded in the rite of ordination that we are to model our lives on the mystery of the Lord's cross. We need to remember that every day, especially when things get on top of us. We need to learn how to embrace the cross, become the Cyrenian, and find freedom rather than languish in chains. St Charles is a good teacher in this regard.

And why a foreigner? Well, God saw fit to send this holy Dutchman to our land to minister in our midst as he once sent a Roman Briton. There is providence in that, I think.

I suppose this may well be just another post, read by some and forgotten. If so, so be it. I am just sharing a few thoughts I've been reflecting on since St Charles was canonised in 2007. It would be nice if some took heed of it and went with the idea. But it would be great if people took note of it and got to know St Charles better and prayed to him. It would be brilliant if priests, Irish priests (and bishops, let us not forget our bishops), took note, get to know Charles and find in him a friend, teacher and intercessor.

Pray For Priests

The feast of St Jean-Marie Vianney, patron of all priests. What a life! What a priest! In this holy man God has offered us priests a marvelous example of how to be a priest. St Jean-Marie helps us realise that priesthood is not a function, but rather a way of life. 

Theology speaks of an ontological change in the soul of a man ordained to the priesthood - a change at the deepest level of his existence, by this we understand that priest is not a mere functionary, he is not ordained to do things, but rather to be someone - a priest. He is not the same as others, he is not a man like other men. Priesthood is not a job, but a vocation, but also a transformation and a conforming - conforming to Christ the High Priest. 

When we speak of a priest being altus Christus, another Christ, we are not talking about his work, his being good or nice, its not about his following the example of Jesus, but it is deeper, it is a conforming to Christ at the deepest level of his soul, of his being. And that happens at this level regardless of the man's attitude, abilities or intentions. The living of priesthood is one in which priests must come to understand this change which has already taken place and orientating his life in accordance with it. This is what St Jean-Marie did. May he help us priests to do the same. 

Please pray for us priests, that we will be made worthy of this astonishing vocation God has given us.

Martyr For The Priesthood

Another martyr of the Spanish Civil War today: one of my favorites. 

A few days ago I looked at the life and martyrdom of the Bishop of Barbastro, Blessed Florentino, I mentioned that he was martyred with a gypsy, Blessed Ceferino Jimenez Malla.  Blessed Ceferino was beatified in 1997, and he is the first gypsy to be raised to the altars – he is considered the patron of gypsies and travellers.  Blessed Ceferino’s life, like many of the Spanish martyrs, reveals a man of profound holiness who may well have been beatified for heroic virtue. 

Born in Fraga, near Huesca in the north of Spain on the 26th August 1861, to a gypsy family who worked as cattle traders.  He was formed in the tradition of his family and lived the nomadic lifestyle his people had lived for generations.  Nominally Catholic, the faith meant little to him, and he was more superstitious than religious.   He initially worked as a cattle trader, but later turned his hand to horse trading, and here he made a name for himself.  As a young man he fell in love with his cousin Teresa Jimenez Castro, and they married according to gypsy rites; they settled in Barbastro.

As a man and trader, Ceferino was respected by gypsies and settled people alike.  He was known as “El Pele”, a nickname meaning “Strong One” which was well deserved.   The couple did not have children of their own, but were generous with their relations and always ready to help those in need. 

When in his forties, something began to happen to Ceferino, and he became more aware of the existence and presence of God, and the truth of the Catholic faith.  He began to pray and he realised that his union with Teresa was not regular.  In 1912 when he was fifty-one he and Teresa were married in the Church. Ceferino began to attend Mass, receive Holy Communion and live a full sacramental life.  He learned the Rosary, and was soon never to be seen without it.  With grace building on nature, Ceferino’s natural virtues were intensified as he grew in holiness.   Honest and charitable, he sought to serve others for Christ’s sake.

Soon after his conversion, he and Teresa adopted her niece who had been orphaned: Pepita.   Embracing this little girl, the couple’s desire for a child was fulfilled: Pepita was raised with great love and taught the Christian faith in a home where her adopted parents lived it with generosity and simplicity.

Meanwhile, Ceferino was discovering more and more about his faith.  He could neither read nor write, but this did not stop him learning the truths of the faith, the teachings of the Scriptures and the lives of the Saints.  In his prayer God seem to teach him much, and soon he was offering himself to help the Church in her mission of catechesis: his offer was accepted.  As a catechist he taught the faith to gypsy and settled children alike, and he was adored by them for his simple and pleasant ways. 

In 1922 his beloved Teresa died; he was bereft.  Turning to God, he found consolation in his prayer, and began to intensify his religious observance.  He was freer to be at the service of those in need, and so he became a peacemaker in the midst of his community.  He was sought after as a wise man for advice by people of all ethnic traditions.  When Pepita married, he then had the freedom to be even more generous with his money, and soon he had little, just enough to meet his few needs.  He would eventually have nothing and rely on charity himself, but even then he would give away much of what he received. 

In 1926 Ceferino was professed as a member of the Franciscan Third Order, and he sought to live as radically as possible the life and devotion of St Francis of Assisi.   Like the Poverello of Assisi, he was particularly devoted to the Blessed Sacrament and he spent a lot of time in adoration, eventually becoming a night adorer spending whole nights in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament.

When the Civil War broke out, Ceferino was well known as a holy man.  He was deeply distressed at what was happening, and sought to help priests as much as he could.   In July 1936 when he was in Barbastro, he came upon a situation in which a young priest was being abused by Republicans in the main square.  Ceferino quickly ran to the priest’s defence, but, though a strong man, he was quickly overcome by the militia himself, and he and the priest were arrested.  The two were thrown into prison.  In the cell, Ceferino prayed his Rosary.  When his captors saw the beads they told him to throw them away – he refused, and clutched the beads closer to prevent them taking them away from him: it was this refusal which sealed his fate.

On the 8th August, Ceferino was shot for his Catholic faith, his Rosary beads still in his hand. 

As a priest, the life and example of Blessed Ceferino is very humbling.  Here was a man who put his life at risk to help a priest, and his death came as a result of that very action.  For this, we priests should honour this holy man and give thanks for his deep love of the Church and the priesthood: we have much to learn from him.  In an age when priests face much criticism and even hatred from many (even within the Church) Blessed Ceferino stands as consoling friend and guide to help us keep our eyes on our vocation and our commitment to serve Christ and his Church.

I wonder?  I know St Jean-Marie Vianney is the patron of all priests, it is not unimaginable that Blessed Ceferino could also be considered as a co-patron of priests, seeing as he laid down his life to defend one.

Holy Thursday

"The holiest of nights" - this is one phrase which describes Holy Thursday.  As we gather for the Mass of the Lord's Supper, follow the procession to the Altar of Repose, and spend the rest of the evening in vigil and adoration, the events which we commemorate are truly present: we are indeed with the Lord on this night.  I can almost imagine a child asking the ritual question: "Why is this night different?" It is indeed the Passover, the new Passover.

In the diocese of Meath we celebrated the Chrism Mass on Wednesday evening.  This year we had a large number of priests renewing their commitment to their ministry.  In this time of renewal we need to look to a renewal of the priesthood as well as that of the Church in Ireland.  Our priests need to rediscover who they are.  Priesthood is not a job, a priest is not a mere pastoral assistant or a facilitator or management.  It is a calling bound up in the mystery of Christ himself and in the Fatherhood of God. 

The Holy Father's Chrism Mass grabbed the headlines around the world - RTE here were quick to report his remarks on women priests and dissent - I'm sure they were not happen - the language they used was quite negative.  They said the Pope was reiterating the "ban" on women priests: they fail to understand that there is no "ban" on women priests in the Catholic Church - rather, as Blessed John Paul II reminded us, the Church has no authority to ordain women - after careful enquiry the Church believes that it is not the will of God. 

The world operates under the erroneous belief that if we can do something, then we should.  We can create human beings through artificial scientific processes, so if we can do it, we do it - morality does not enter into it.  So with the ordination of women - if it is conceivable, then we do it - we do not need to ask God whether he wants it: he too, it seems, is bound by secular equality laws.  However in this case if God does not want it it does not happen.  As one of my students said to me a few years ago when I was teaching: "If God doesn't want women priests, it doesn't matter if you go through an "ordination" for them, they're still not priests" - the student was a girl and it made perfect sense to her.  After all, priesthood was not a human invention, nor governed by equality laws, it is a gift from God to be governed by his will.

The Catholic priesthood, among other things, is a manifestation of fatherhood: every man is called to be a father - how he exercises that fatherhood will depend on his individual vocation.  It is easy to see this fatherhood in the men who marry and have children.  But those who do not marry nor have children, their fatherhood is expressed in different ways.  A priest is a father to those in his care: priesthood and fatherhood are inextricably linked.  Today, on Holy Thursday, priests are reminded that they are called to be fathers, to make the sacrifice that fathers must make for their children, to govern the household of God as fathers do.

This year many people will be remembering those who died in the Titanic disaster.  We all know the stories of some of the passengers - the "unsinkable" Molly Brown who was heroic in her efforts to save people - she was a Catholic, by the way, and after the disaster went on to do a lot of good work for the Church and society.  But among the silent heroes are a number of priests who refused offers of seats on the lifeboats to stay and minister to the people who were going to die.  The one scene that struck me from the movie Titanic (which I hated by the way, A Night To Remember is much better), was that of the priest absolving sins as the ship was going down.  It really happened.

We know of three priests who ministered heroically in preparing passengers for their deaths: Fr Joseph Benedikt Peruschitz, a German Benedictine.  He was on his way to take up a teaching position in Collegeville.  He was a second class passenger, who was offered a place in the lifeboats - he refused.  He went about the sinking ship giving absolution, consoling the passengers and leading them in prayer.  He was mocked by some passengers as he was going about his work preparing people to meet their God.  He went down in the midst of the faithful praying the rosary: he was 41 years old.

Fr Juozas Montvila was only 27, a Lithuanian. He had endured much persecution from the Russians in his native Lithuania.  He had been ministering to Ukrainian Catholics against the wishes of the Tsar.  Fr Juozas was prohibited from exercising his priestly ministry and eventually driven out of Lithuania.  He was on his way to the US to take up a position ministering to Lithuanian Catholics.  He too refused a place in the lifeboats and exercised his priestly fatherhood in consoling those about to die.

Fr Thomas Byles, 42, was an English priest, a convert from Anglicanism - his story is very like Blessed John Henry Newman's.  He had been a Congregationalist, but at Oxford converted to the Church of England and began preparing to enter the Anglican ministry.  However his studies led him to Catholicism, and he was ordained a priest in 1902.  He was on his way to a family wedding in Brooklyn.  He was ministering to the Catholics on the voyage, most of whom were third class, so he knew his way around the lower decks.  When the iceberg hit he refused a seat in the lifeboats and made his way down to third class, which was quickly sealed up to prevent the immigrants making for the lifeboats - the upper classes, it seems, had the right to the few lifeboats, the poor could go down with the ship.  He spent his last hours hearing confessions and praying with the passengers trapped in the ship. 

Frs Joseph Benedikt Peruschitz, Juozas Montvila and Thomas Byles

None of these priests were ever found, like hundreds of others, their bodies perished in the waters.  In these three men we see the fatherhood of the priesthood at work - a father does not abandon his children - these priests knew where they had to be as the ship went down.

What is interesting is that these three men seemed almost prepared for this final sacrifice. Each of them had been formed in heroism in their lives so when it came to the disaster, they were ready to respond as Christ would respond.  This reminds us that a priest is a man chosen even before was born, consecrated in the womb, as the prophet says.  That is consoling for us priests -God has chosen us and he will help us carry out the mission he has entrusted to us.

I'm not sure if the possibility of beatification has been mooted for these three priests, but it may be worth considering.  What wonderful examples for us priests - these men who laid down their lives for their flock, literally.

Not A Bull's Notion

We must pray for Cardinal Schoenborn and the bishops of Austria, they have real trouble on their hands.  According to news reports (and I urge caution, journalists can get things wrong) a group of dissenting Catholics are threatening the bishops that if they do not give in to their demands, the laity will begin to celebrate Mass themselves.  They are of the belief that the Bible gives them the right to do so.

Now rebellion aside, you have to wonder who these people are. Are there priests among them?  Because one thing is certain, they haven't got a bull's notion of the Christian faith or the concept of the priesthood.  Even those who demand that women be ordained know at the very least that the ministerial priesthood has to be conferred through ordination, these people in Austria seem not to know that and think that the only thing which is stopping them consecrating the Holy Eucharist is a ban by a "Patriarchal Church".

This reveals that what is really at the heart of much of this dissent is an appalling lack of real catechesis: they actually do not know the teachings of the Christian faith, nor the sacramental system of the Catholic Church.  Many of them could not even be described as Protestant, because most Protestant communities require some form of ordination for its ministers.  That there are priests among these dissidents is very sad and worrying: it is obvious that if they are peddling this nonsense they have had little or no theological formation, or at least a formation that adheres to the teachings of the Church.

Of course we know all this.  We know that since Vatican II there has been a crisis in catechesis in the Church - the wrong people are in charge of these programmes and they have diluted the articles of faith in favour of a more experiential approach which has led to some major lapses in faith formation:  Thomas Groome has become the guru for many in all this.  We know that many of the seminaries are in a bad way theologically - I know from personal experience.  There is little (at best!) differentiation between the ministerial/sacramental priesthood and the common priesthood of the faithful, so new priests go out unaware that they are indeed men set apart with a power, for lack of a better word, which others do not have: the power to consecrate the Eucharist, the power of forgive sins.  It's all very sad.

Musings

There is a saying that those who wed themselves to the spirit of the age are quickly widowed, and how true it is.  It seems that as I write there are many who are entering the state of widowhood, among them many priests, religious, and even bishops.  One of our bishops who is determined to remain wedded to Christ is Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn.  In a recent interview he has responded publicly to the revolt of some of his priests who want a “reform” of the Church, reform being, in their lexicon, an abandonment of fundamental Church teachings and practices in order to embrace the spirit of our secularist age. As the Cardinal rightly points out if he were to do this he would break communion with the Church and he is not prepared to do that. 

This raises an interesting question – right back at them: have they broken communion with the Church (though they insist “We are the Church”)?  Indeed is it not time for them to reconsider their position and make formal what they are already informally?  May it not be time for those who will not accept the teaching of the Catholic Church to consider a denomination which holds as its teachings what they already believe themselves?  St Dominic Savio’s famous motto, “be true to yourself”, may be the one they need to adopt for themselves. 

We often hear the word “reform” bandied about by those who, in reality, do not want to bring us back to the purity of Christ’s message, but rather a new secularised version which in reality detracts from what the Lord intended to do.  The canon of dissident is normally made up of sexual issues proving time and time again that care of the human spirit tends to come second to the desires of the body.  Instead of trying to embrace a life of balance and chastity, following the example of Christ, our erstwhile “reformers” want to tinker at Christ’s teaching in order to facilitate sexual desire, not in a healthy sense, but in a permissive sense.  Jesus never said “anything goes as long as you love each other”, but our modern thinkers relying on the broadest, most relativist interpretation of the one piece of Christian teaching they accept, “God is love”, have managed to crowd in everything and anything so they can justify any aberration.

They say the Church is obsessed with sex – not so, they only think that because they are the ones obsessed with sex.  If you listen to these reformers when in one of their attacks on the Church you do not have to wait very long before sex pops up in the debate as they decry the Church’s ban on contraception, pre-marital sex, divorce and remarriage and now, homosexuality. 

Even the debate on married priests is not too far away from sex. A friend of mine, who has had more than his fair share of debates with these reformers, has come to conclusion that the debate about married priests is about sex: “They just want the priest to be having sex so then he is no different from anyone else”.  After much thought I think his conclusion is correct.  Celibacy serves as a sign in the modern world to another life, a life of purity and grace.  Celibacy teaches all of us that sex is not the be all and end all of life: it is one part of life, but not all of life – there is more to the human person than sex.  That contradicts the ideological thinking of many, those who see untrammelled sex as the great sign of liberation and freedom – the triumph of “MY will” over the world.  Ultimately it is another expression, the most powerful expression today, of the non serviam.

This is why Bishop Edward Daly, with all due respects to him, is wrong: celibacy is important because it reminds the world that the priest is a man set apart.  While he has the same difficulties and temptations as everyone else – sometimes more, he must strive to become what he has promised to be – his promise of celibacy is the potent sign of this.   A priest is not to be like other men, he is different.  A priest is not his own, as Archbishop Fulton Sheen reminds us, he belongs to God and the Church – so he must never belong to another human being exclusively be it a wife or children. 

Some will say the celibacy rule is already undermined by former Anglicans who are ordained or Eastern Rite priests, but these exceptions do not undermine the rule, but rather draw our attention to it.  These priests do great work, but their first responsibility is to their wives and families, as it should be: the Church, though, needs men whose first responsibility is to a lifetime’s service of the Church: men who even in their own bodies, conform themselves to Christ the High Priest whose bride and only spouse, is the Church.  Call that idealistic, unrealistic, unworkable if you want, but when the critics of celibacy roll out the hard cases to prove their point, the Church can point to millions of celibate, holy and happy priests who devoted their entire lives to the selfless service of the people of God, to prove her point.

It has also been said that the rule of celibacy is preventing many young men from considering the priesthood, and so the Church is being deprived of their ministry.  I disagree with that: if a young man is deterred from priesthood because of celibacy, then priesthood is not for him: it is a life which requires a radical dying to self and so when a man is considering priesthood he has to be prepared to let everything else go. Those priests who are struggling with celibacy are struggling with living their vocation, as all who have embraced a vocation struggle.  Married couples struggle and their struggle can be, at times, worse than that of a priest. 

It is said that the loneliness is too much for a man, he needs a life’s companion.  There are many who live alone and who must deal with loneliness – that single life is not always chosen.  There are people in marriage who are lonely.  A priest must order his life and his day so as to deal with that loneliness.  As for a life companion – the priest should already have one – Christ.  A priest must pray: in prayer he will come to know and love his Lord as his spouse.  Unfortunately some priests put prayer way down the agenda – they are too many other things to do: but prayer must be a priority.  A psychologist priest I know, who has decades of experience of working with priests in crisis, once said to me that when a priest comes to him with a vocational crisis and is thinking of leaving, the first question he asks is: “When did you stop praying?”  Inevitably, he says, prayer has been absent or scarce for many in this situation.

It has been said that a priest should have a family to call his own: he does – it’s called the Church.  One of the joys of priesthood is that you are a member of many families, all of whom take you to their hearts and love you.  Whenever I go out on visitation I am welcomed by my parishioners and others, and they take you right into their homes and their lives.  They trust you, confide in you, love you, because you are their priest – the one who has chosen to offer his life in service for them and is there for them whenever they need him.  That is the way it should be.  A priest has many children whom he must love and care for – when a priest is struggling with celibacy, he should also remember his people who love him for the sacrifice he has made for them.

I have had many debates on this issue, and this stage I remind the critics of the above and then turn to the pragmatic argument: are they prepared to up the offerings in order to provide their priest with an income to support his wife and many children (after all, we’ll be good Catholics, there will be no contraception!)?  When I list out the amount necessary and then the fact that he will not be as free for them as he was when celibate, they go strangely quiet.  The theoretical argument has set them on fire, but when reality hits and it means digging deeper into their pockets, funnily, things don’t seem as simple then. 

This Holy Night

The Venerable Pope John Paul II in the Upper Room of the Last Supper in Jerusalem

As we begin the Sacred Triduum, this evening reflecting on the Holy Eucharist, the priesthood and the Lord's agony in the garden of Gethesemane, my thoughts turn to Pope John Paul's reflections in his encyclical on the Eucharist. To aid our meditation this evening an appropriate extract:

During the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000 I had an opportunity to celebrate the Eucharist in the Cenacle of Jerusalem where, according to tradition, it was first celebrated by Jesus himself. The Upper Room was where this most holy Sacrament was instituted. It is there that Christ took bread, broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying: “Take this, all of you, and eat it: this is my body which will be given up for you” (cf. Mk 26:26; Lk 22:19; 1 Cor 11:24). Then he took the cup of wine and said to them: “Take this, all of you and drink from it: this is the cup of my blood, the blood of the new and everlasting covenant. It will be shed for you and for all, so that sins may be forgiven” (cf. Mt 14:24; Lk 22:20; 1 Cor 11:25). I am grateful to the Lord Jesus for allowing me to repeat in that same place, in obedience to his command: “Do this in memory of me” (Lk 22:19), the words which he spoke two thousand years ago. 

Did the Apostles who took part in the Last Supper understand the meaning of the words spoken by Christ? Perhaps not. Those words would only be fully clear at the end of the Triduum sacrum, the time from Thursday evening to Sunday morning. Those days embrace the myste- rium paschale; they also embrace the mysterium eucharisticum. 

The Church was born of the paschal mystery. For this very reason the Eucharist, which is in an outstanding way the sacrament of the paschal mystery, stands at the centre of the Church's life. This is already clear from the earliest images of the Church found in the Acts of the Apostles: “They devoted themselves to the Apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” (2:42). The “breaking of the bread” refers to the Eucharist. Two thousand years later, we continue to relive that primordial image of the Church. At every celebration of the Eucharist, we are spiritually brought back to the paschal Triduum: to the events of the evening of Holy Thursday, to the Last Supper and to what followed it. The institution of the Eucharist sacramentally anticipated the events which were about to take place, beginning with the agony in Gethsemane. Once again we see Jesus as he leaves the Upper Room, descends with his disciples to the Kidron valley and goes to the Garden of Olives. Even today that Garden shelters some very ancient olive trees. Perhaps they witnessed what happened beneath their shade that evening, when Christ in prayer was filled with anguish “and his sweat became like drops of blood falling down upon the ground” (cf. Lk 22:44). The blood which shortly before he had given to the Church as the drink of salvation in the sacrament of the Eucharist, began to be shed; its outpouring would then be completed on Golgotha to become the means of our redemption: “Christ... as high priest of the good things to come..., entered once for all into the Holy Place, taking not the blood of goats and calves but his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption” (Heb 9:11- 12).

The hour of our redemption. Although deeply troubled, Jesus does not flee before his “hour”. “And what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour?' No, for this purpose I have come to this hour” (Jn 12:27). He wanted his disciples to keep him company, yet he had to experience loneliness and abandonment: “So, could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation” (Mt 26:40- 41). Only John would remain at the foot of the Cross, at the side of Mary and the faithful women. The agony in Gethsemane was the introduction to the agony of the Cross on Good Friday. The holy hour, the hour of the redemption of the world. Whenever the Eucharist is celebrated at the tomb of Jesus in Jerusalem, there is an almost tangible return to his “hour”, the hour of his Cross and glorification. Every priest who celebrates Holy Mass, together with the Christian community which takes part in it, is led back in spirit to that place and that hour.

This is a beautiful night, a holy night, a night of grace, may it be full of blessings and graces for all of you.  I will be remembering all the members of the Fraternity, and all readers of my blog, in my Mass this evening and during the Holy Vigil.  Can I ask you all to pray for me also and for all my brother priests?

Should Priests Marry?



There is an excellent post by Fr Dwight Longnecker on his blog dealing with the question of married priests in the Catholic Church.   He reminds us that there is a difference between priests marrying and married men being ordained.  As a former Anglican priest who converted, he was ordained a priest for the Church while having a wife and children, so his reflection is very interesting - from the inside you might say.  And he has a few interesting things to say, things which will dispel the rosy view many calling for married priests have. The paragraph on practical problems will make them quite uncomfortable methinks.  

In Ireland today you often hear the call for married priests, and it is seen by many as the solution to many of the Church's problems (they are not following what is going on in the Anglican communion - lots of problems there).   

At the beginning of the Year of the Priest, I decided to dedicate a few homilies throughout the year to the priesthood.  In one of them I touched on the call for priests to be allowed marry.  I briefly explained the theology behind it - I could see a few faces in the congregation tighten up - they were determined not to be convinced. 

Then I got on to a few practical points, same as those Fr Dwight raises.  Well, the reaction was amazing!   When they realised that THEY would have to support the priest and his family, the looks on their faces changed - reality was hitting.  "You would need to give perhaps three or four times more to bring the priest's salary up to a decent rate to support his wife and children" (their mouths opened).  "As we will follow the Church's teachings on all things, there will probably be a lot of children to support" (indignant look - it seems they will want their priest to be contracepting with the rest of them).  "And remember, a priest will have to put his marriage first, so if it comes to a decision between your needs and his family's needs, you'll have to take second place" (ie they'll pay more, less availability). 

To be honest I was smiling inside.  Many who argue for priests to marry, as Fr Dwight alludes to, are not very realistic, even a touch naive - they really do not consider all the issues.  Personally I favour the continuance of the discipline in the Western Church which dates to apostolic times (we need to tackle the false history that claims celibacy only came in around the 12th century).   Celibacy makes a priest available to his flock and symbolises his total dedication to Christ.  As one who lives and acts in persona Christi, when the priest is celibate he is living a life more imitative of Christ who was celibate himself.   That said, I have no problem with the exceptions which are made for those former Anglican clergy who convert - I trust the Church will be careful in its decision and prudent in appointments: the exception does not nullify the rule. 

St Joseph, Father of Priests

The Holy Father, taking his cue from the Gospel, dedicated his Angelus talk yesterday to St Joseph, and in doing so, entrusted the pastors of the Church to the Saint's care.  

What a wonderful model for priests - the foster-father of Jesus who put aside all his hopes and dreams, to answer the call of God to become the legal father and protector of the Messiah.  Priests are asked to do the same: to leave everything to follow the Lord, even to diminish so Christ can increase.  Fulton Sheen once said that a priest is not his own, and that is true, and it is part of the struggle of being a priest - dying to oneself, giving of oneself, holding nothing back - as true fatherhood requires. 

But also, like St Joseph, the priest becomes the silent man of the Gospel ("hidden with Christ in God", as St Paul puts it) - not silent in the sense that he does not open his mouth and proclaim the Gospel - he does, but he is silent in the sense that he does not get in the way of the Word of God, but rather proclaims it as given by Christ.    Joseph was silent because he heard the Word of God and did what that Word asked of him, so too with the priest.  That is why it is sad to see and hear priests who teach their own opinions when they judge the Gospel to be "unliveable" or the teachings of the Church lacking in compassion, or old fashioned, or when they seek to curry favour with people or the fashions of an age.  Here the example of humble Joseph who was entrusted with the household of God becomes a model for us.

The Holy Father's talk is here.  And here is another talk the Pope gave on St Joseph in which he proposes him as a model for priests.

Saint of the Confessional

Here in Padua, St Anthony is not the only saintly notable.  Another Franciscan elbows in for the limelight, St Leopold Mandic - a Croatian who settled in Padua and gained a reputation for holiness through his ministry in the confessional.  We priests always need renewal in our ministry and how we administer the sacraments.  It is too easy to get lax and dish out grace as if it was ordinary food.  So close to the mystery, there is always the danger we become too familiar with it, too casual.  We need to realise that when we administer the sacraments we are immersed in a great ocean of grace, a great mystery, which God in his goodness, has ordained us to pass on to our brothers and sisters.  Confession is a great mystery - the mystery of God's mercy, the mystery of the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus poured out on sinners with the intention of forgiving them their sins, regenerating them and strengthening them to pursue a life of holiness.  St Leopold understood: I pray we priests may do the same.

There is a wonderful story from the life of St Leopold and St Pio.  Both were Capuchins ministering around the same time, Leopold in Padua and Pio in San Giovanni Rotondo; both were renowned for their gifts in the confessional.  One intrepid lady decided to compare and contrast the two.  So she went to St Leopold in Padua, and came away delighted with his gentleness and kindness.  She then popped down to the south of Italy to see how St Pio compared.  She should have known better: Pio turned out to be very harsh with her during the confession.  Indignant (funnily, I expected that!), she tore into Pio, proclaiming that he was not as nice as his brother Capuchin in the north: Padre Leopold was kind and gentle.  Quick off the mark, St Pio turned and said: "He gets the easy ones: he sends all the difficult ones to me!"  Touche, Padre Pio!!

Lovely videos on the life of St Leopold produced by his brother Capuchins: