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Before I forget&
· The priest is someone, who at the core of his being, has been set on fire by God and who invites others to catch the flame. The late Joseph Cardinal Bernadine
Whether it's the shortage of priests available for presiding at Sunday Eucharist, the publicity surrounding clerical scandals in the media, or the decrease of vocations to the priesthood, the Roman Catholic Christian community can hardly ignore the issue of priesthood in our times. The reality is harsh and the danger for some of us, priests and laity, is to get discouraged.
Last week my priest support group met for our monthly meeting. It was a difficult meeting for us. The mood was heavy and discouraging as we talked about the leadership in the church and how the continuing news of abuse and cover-up is taking a heavy toll on many of us. The Cardinal of Boston certainly mishandled the pedophilia problem in his diocese and now, throughout the country, priest are angry discouraged and in pain. Talk about a "Good Friday!"
As a support group, we gather to support, encourage, help and challenge one another as priests in our times. Priests need to be passionate and enthusiastic about life, ministry and the future. The word "enthusiasm" comes from the Greek root, en Theos, to be possessed by God. To be possessed by God is not always easy, is it? Hopefully, all of us are possessed by God.
The priest, the rabbi, the minister is always in the spotlight, like it or not. How we handle the spotlight will define our future as leaders. Peter Drucker says, "Failures are self-correcting; it is success that will do you in." Certainly, Jesus knew what it was like to be followed. Crowds followed him wherever he went. His path was blocked when he was in the spotlight.
Those ordained to ministry live in a fishbowl and the extra scrutiny just adds more pressure to our job descriptions. At times, the spotlight that creates the most pressure doesn't come from the media or other churches; it comes from our local congregations. Criticism is inevitable in ministry. Sometimes the criticism is undeserved. Jesus certainly knew about criticism and told his disciples, "Woe to you when all (men) speak well of you." (Luke 6:26).
Here is a short story I found interesting for my ministry-sometimes we may be like the lawyer and at other times like the farmer--when we think we're right.
I heard about a New York Lawyer who went duck hunting in rural Tennessee. He shot and dropped a bird, but it fell into a farmer's field on the other side of the fence. As the lawyer climbed over the fence, an elderly farmer drove up on his tractor and asked what he was doing.
"I shot this duck, and it fell in this field, and now I'm going in to retrieve it."
"This is my property," the old farmer replied, "and you're not coming over here."
"I'm one of the best trial lawyers in New York, and if you don't let me get that duck, I'll sue you and take everything you own."
"Apparently, you don't know how we do things in these parts of Tennessee," said the farmer. "We settle disagreements like this with the Tennessee three-kick rule."
"And just what is the Tennessee three-kick rule?"
"Well, first I kick you three times, and then you kick me three time, and so on, back and forth, until someone gives up."
The attorney quickly thought about the proposed contest and decided that he could easily take the old-timer. He agreed to the local custom. The old farmer slowly climbed down from the tractor and walked up to the city slicker. His first kick planted the steel toe of his heavy work boot in the lawyer's shin. The second kick nearly put a hole in the man's stomach. The old man quickly delivered the third kick to the side of the attorney's head. Slowly the disoriented lawyer managed to get to his feet.
"Okay, you old codger," he said. "Now it's my turn."
The farmer slowly smiled and said, "Naw, I give up. You can have the duck."
Sometimes I might be right, sometimes wrong, sometimes it's not worth being beaten up. You can have the duck!
Fr. Bill
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