Priestly Life

 Priestly life:

 Many people question the relevance of priesthood. Some people hold that the whole concept of priesthood is a sham and a fraud. Many are offended by the discourteous or uncouth behaviour of some priests. They did not find in these priests the gentlemanliness, courtesy, or compassion they expected from people who represented Christ. There are indeed some priests whose behaviour is atrocious and they appear not to have been transformed by the Gospels' message. They do not represent the vast majority of the priests who reflect the compassion and understanding of Jesus in their lives. His closeness to Jesus and his daily striving to be close to Him sustain a priest in his life..

  What Jesus said about himself as the Way, the Life, and the Truth gives us strength and confidence to handle our problems. If we put our trust in Him, nothing can destroy us or take away our inner freedom, peace, or joy.

The following reflections on the priesthood by Fr. Peter Stravinskas in his book “Be to Me a Father and a Priest” are found to be relevant in the discussion of priesthood in today’s world,

“His(Priest’s) is a divine commission to teach the tremendous mystery of God’s love to all men. We have at our disposal today the most advanced techniques of communication, the most nuanced understanding of learning theory, and most carefully researched methodologies….So, Fathers, like Christ, we must “be about our Father’s business.”

 According to Henri Nouwen, priests are “wounded healers”. We have our sins and failures. We need mercy in our lives. No one is perfect. Even the very thought that we are perfect and haven’t committed any sin is a sign of arrogance. Archbishop Sheen’s words to a person who asked him how he could establish rapport with prisoners when he goes to prisons to visit them are worth paying attention to. He said, he would say to them,  “Only thing is that I was not caught but you were caught. There go I but for the grace of God.”

We are all in the same boat. We carry our sins with us. We should be merciful and compassionate.

Fr. Peter Stravinskas mentions the following as the qualities required for priests in today’s age:

Courage of conviction, confidence, enthusiasm, joy, prayer and scholarship, prudence, class, and courtesy.

 The other traditional qualifications are presumed: prayer life, commitment to our promises of obedience, and chastity.

Pope Benedict speaks of a deficiency among modern Christians which he calls “Negative Tolerance.”

Confidence consists in knowing who you are and what you have to offer. Self-confidence is not arrogance.

Enthusiasm means that you should have fire in the belly.

Joy consists in seeing everything under the lens of eternity—seeing everything in the perspective of eternity.

Scholarship is Intellectual self-improvement

Prudence is doing the right thing under the right circumstances.

Class shows the way we talk, dress, and walk.