I'm Back

After a long break from blogging (due to circumstances beyond my control) I am back online. The summer has been hectic to say the least - but so full of graces and grace-filled encounters with the Lord through the people I have ministered to (some of whom I accompanied into the next life with prayer and the Sacraments of the Church).

Then the Bishop called me in and told me that he wanted me to move to a new parish. And the past month or so I've been busy packing up and then unpacking my stuff. All that packing made me realise that I haven't really taken the Lord's admonition - 'Carry no purse or haversack' seriously enough. It's amazing how much 'stuff' one acumulates. I've been in the parish here now for just over two weeks and so far so good. I'm responsible for roughly 1000 souls here and it's a nice community with friendly 'natives'.

Of course I have begun what you might call 'liturgical renovations' by making small changes in the way things are done and trying to elevate the liturgy to a more solemn level - careful not to usher in a liturgical revolution all at once, though. Step by step - as they say.

I'm also teaching a few classes each week in a Secondary School (High School for those readers who are American/Canadian)and enjoy the challenge of the teens who ask what they consider intelligent and original questions! They pride themselves on being open-minded and free thinkers - and I'm amazed at how pre-conditioned they are and how much of their thought processes have been formed (deformed) by the media and popular culture. They don't actually think for themselves - they actually think what they have been conditioned to think. Their minds are, unfortunately neither open nor free.

Hopefully I will get more time now to make a few more entries in my blog. If you're a regular or have just happened upon this post - please say a prayer for me as I begin to shepherd a new flock in pastures new.

In the Hearts of Jesus and Mary,

Fr. B

The Idolatrous Worship of the Priest

A few days ago I baptised a few children here in the parish. One of those children was the 5th child of a particular family and so her other siblings (all under 9) were there for the great occasion. After the ceremony had taken place and as all the photos were being snapped I was doing a little bit of a tidy up and went to blow out the paschal candle. As I was taking it down out of the candle stand (can anyone tell me what this is called) one little boy of about 5 years of age came running up to me. I lowered the candle to him and told him to blow it out - he duly obliged.

I asked him a question or two about himself and his newly baptised sister and then sent him on his way. I was not prepared for what happened next. Before he took his leave, he folded his hands reverently in prayer and made a profound genuflection in front of me. When I pointed out to him that it was towards the Tabernacle that he should be genuflecting and not to the priest - he looked genuinely perplexed as if what he had done was the most natural thing in the world; and so he turned to head back to his family - none of whom had noticed what he had done.

The incident got me thinking about another incident in which a priest friend of mine was visiting a class of 6 year olds and was asked by one inquisitive young boy if he was God.

My brush with idolatry struck me forcefully though - since that young boy somewhere, somehow probably began to associate (and confuse) the priest with Jesus. And it made me think of the many ways in which I am anything but Christ-like. And what damage can that do to the faith of someone as young or as impressionable as this little boy if I were to be anything less than Christ-like. If only I and every priest would be mistaken for Christ in the way we live and speak and proclaim the Gospel - how much more effective our ministry would be. This little boy's mistaken identity episode has reminded me that I must live up to the calling that is mine as a priest of Jesus Christ.

The Importance of Meditation and Contemplation for Priests

The following is an extract from an Apostolic Exhortation on Priestly Sanctity given by Pope St. Pius X called Haerent Animo. It is a rather long extract but well worth a read.

Despite the high dignity of the various functions of the priestly office and the veneration which they deserve, frequent exercise of these functions may lead those who discharge them to treat them with less respect than is their due. From a gradual decline in fervor it is an easy step to carelessness and even to distaste for the most sacred things. In addition, a priest cannot avoid daily contact with a corrupt society; frequently, in the very exercise of pastoral charity, he must fear the insidious attacks of the infernal serpent. Is it not all too easy even for religious souls to be tarnished by contact with the world? It is evident, therefore, that there is a grave and urgent need for the priest to turn daily to the contemplation of the eternal truths, so that his mind and will may gain new strength to stand firm against every enticement to evil.

Moreover, it is the strict duty of the priest to have a mind for heavenly things, to teach them, to inculcate them; in the regulation of his whole life he must be so much superior to human considerations that whatever he does in the discharge of his sacred office will be done in accordance with God, under the impulse and guidance of faith; it is fitting then that he should possess a certain aptitude to rise above earthly considerations and strive for heavenly things. Nothing is more conducive to the acquisition and strengthening of this disposition of soul, this quasi-natural union with God, than daily meditation; it is unnecessary to dwell upon this truth which every prudent person clearly realizes.

The life of a priest who underestimates the value of meditation, or has lost all taste for it, provides a sad confirmation of what we have been saying. Let your eyes dwell on the spectacle of men in whom the mind of Christ, that supremely precious gift, has grown weak; their thoughts are all on earthly things, they are engaged in vain pursuits, their words are so much unimportant chatter; in the performance of their sacred functions they are careless, cold, perhaps even unworthy. Formerly, these same men, with the oil of priestly ordination still fresh upon them, diligently prepared themselves for the recitation of the Psalms, lest they should be like men who tempt God; they sought a time and place free from disturbance; they endeavored to grasp the divine meaning; in union with the psalmist they poured forth their soul in songs of praise, sorrow and rejoicing. But now, what a change has taken place!

In like manner, little now remains of that lively devotion which they felt towards the divine mysteries. Formerly, how beloved were those tabernacles! It was their delight to be present at the table of the Lord, to invite more and more pious souls to that banquet! Before Mass, what purity, what earnestness in the prayers of a loving heart! How great reverence in the celebration of Mass, with complete observance of the august rites in all their beauty! What sincerity in thanksgiving! And the sweet perfume of Christ was diffused over their people! We beg of you, beloved sons: Call to mind . . . the former days; for then your soul was burning with zeal, being nourished by holy meditation.

Some of those who find recollection of the heart a burden, or entirely neglect it, do not seek to disguise the impoverishment of soul which results from their attitude, but they try to excuse themselves on the pretext that they are completely occupied by the activity of their ministry, to the manifold benefit of others.

They are gravely mistaken. For as they are unaccustomed to converse with God, their words completely lack the inspiration which comes from God when they speak to men about God or inculcate the counsels of the christian life; it is as if the message of the Gospel were practically dead in them. However distinguished for prudence and eloquence, their speech does not echo the voice of the good Shepherd which the sheep hear to their spiritual profit; it is mere sound which goes forth without fruit, and sometimes gives a pernicious example to the disgrace of religion and the scandal of the good.

It is the same in other spheres of their activity; there can be no solid achievement, nothing of lasting benefit, in the absence of the heavenly dew which is brought down in abundance by the prayer of the man who humbles himself.

Who can forgive sins, but God?

Who can forgive sins but God? The gospel tells us that - as a truth of the faith – only God can forgive sins. And so the next obvious question is: If only God can forgive sins then why am I obliged to present myself to a priest, who is obviously not God, in the confessional? Why can’t I approach God directly and receive his forgiveness for the wrongs I have done? Why, many object, reveal to a mere man what might be my most intimate circumstances and most secret faults? Why do I need the priest as a go-between in order to receive God’s forgiveness?

The Gospel story of the paralytic who is lowered through the roof to Jesus gives us a clue. The paralytic is unable to get to Jesus. He needs the help of his friends. And even then there are so many obstacles that meeting Jesus and being healed seems impossible. But these friends are undaunted, when others would just give up – these friends go to extreme lengths to ensure this paralytic has his meeting with Christ. They eventually bring him right to the feet of Jesus and he is thereby healed. These friends are a symbol of the Church and of our priests, who bring us into direct contact with Jesus. Why go to the priest for confession? Because through his priesthood we can be sure that we are placed in the presence of Christ and that from that place we will go forth reborn, free and strong.

Jesus makes it clear that the paralysis of the man in the Gospel was more spiritual than physical. And that spiritual paralysis was the healing he really needed. Jesus grants both types of healing to him, but puts the emphasis on the restrictive and destructive power of sin which must be removed and can only be removed by God. Only God can forgive sins.

The words of absolution which we hear each time we go to confession are spoken by the Priest. He does not say: "I forgive you your sins" nor "Christ forgives you your sins"; but "I absolve you," "I absolve you from your sins, in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit." The word ‘absolve’ means to unbind, or to set free. And in those words the mercy of God, the forgiveness of Christ, is applied to the soul. Priests are the Lord’s ministers of mercy. In the confessional they act, not merely on Christ’s behalf, but as Christ himself.

Why do we need to go to the priest for confession? If this great sacrament is what our faith tells us it is – then why would we go anywhere else, why would we even hesitate? But many do hesitate and even reject that great sacrament. The early Fathers of the Church, great saints and bishops of the early Church, called the sacrament of penance the second plank of salvation after the shipwreck which is the loss of the state of grace. The first plank is baptism, and by it we are hauled aboard the ship which is the Church. Serious sins is like falling overboard back into the dangerous sea and unless the Church throw overboard that second plank – confessions – then we risk being drowned in that sea of iniquity. What drowning man would refuse to reach out and grasp the only thing that can keep him afloat. And yet many do just that. Calling out from the stormy waves they have fallen into through sin – “Save me Lord, Save me” – and there beside them is that great ship called the Church offering salvation, but the offer goes unheeded.

Pope John Paul II spoke on the hesitation which many experience over this sacrament:
"It is true, he said, the man who absolves is a brother who must also confess in his turn, since, despite his obligation to grow in personal holiness, he remains subject to the limitations of human frailty. The man who absolves, however, does not offer the forgiveness of sins in the name of his own holiness… When he raises his hand in blessing and pronounces the words of absolution, he acts ‘in persona Christi’ – in the person of Christ – not simply as Christ’s representative, but also and above all as a human instrument in which the Lord Jesus is present and acts."

If we really believed in the healing power of the sacrament of confession, then such a crowd would gather round the doors of the confessional that it would be almost impossible to get in to have our meeting with Christ. It takes faith to believe in this sacrament, but it is precisely faith, the faith of those friends of the paralytic, which stirs Jesus to grant that man a complete healing of Body and Soul. After perhaps years of paralysis, one encounter with Christ, changed that man’s whole life and set him back on the road to eternal life. Let us pray that we might all appreciate both the reality and the necessity of receiving the Lord’s pardon in the great sacrament of reconciliation.

I leave you with another quotation from John Paul II:
“The confession boxes of the world in which people bring their sins to light do not proclaim the severity of God, but above all they speak of his merciful goodness. And those who approach the confessional, sometimes after many years and with the weight of serious sins, find the longed-for relief when they go from there; they find the joy and serenity of conscience, which they can find nowhere else but in confession.”

Lent is fast approaching. This year lets put repentance and confession of our sins at the top of our list of things to focus on.

In the Hearts of Jesus and Mary,

Fr. B