Posted on 07/06/2017 6:09:50 AM PDT by Salvation
It is amazing to think that 30 of the first 33 Popes died as martyrs. Of the other three, two died in exile and only one died in his bed. It’s hard to imagine such suffering today among the lowliest of priests let alone Church prelates.
On the Feast of St. Thomas Apostle (July 3rd) we read this description of the apostolic life by St. Paul:
As I see it, God has put us apostles at the end of the line, like men doomed to die in the arena. We have become a spectacle to the universe, to angels and men alike. We are fools on Christ’s account. Ah, but in Christ you are wise! We are the weak ones, you the strong! They honor you, while they sneer at us! Up to this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, poorly clad, roughly treated, wandering about homeless. We work hard at manual labor. When we are insulted we respond with a blessing. Persecution comes our way; we bear it patiently. We are slandered, and we try conciliation. We have become the world’s refuse, the scum of all; that is the present state of affairs (1 Cor 4:8-12).
As a priest reading this description, I don’t whether I should feel grateful, or ashamed and embarrassed. Frankly, nothing describes our life today less than what St. Paul described. We clergy live rather comfortable, even privileged, lives.
The bishops of the Church are typically surrounded by staff, often layers of staff, insulating them from the lay faithful, who have little hope of ever being able to contact or speak with him directly. There are titles, seats of honor, and regal vesture with insignias.
As for us pastors and parish priests, we are often protected by staff as well. We live in rectories that are often well-appointed. Unlike the faithful we serve, we have job security and few personal financial concerns. We are given food, shelter, health insurance, and retirement benefits, and the people of God are enormously generous with us. Staff stand ready to assist in our administrative tasks, and repair and clean our homes and churches. Many of us even have cooks and laundresses. We too have our titles, seats of honor, and regal vesture.
It is so different from what St. Paul described and himself experienced!
It must be said that there are many priests and bishops who are generous and who live lives of sacrificial service. Many work long hours and seldom are those hours regular.
However, few of us are hungry, thirsty, or poorly dressed, let alone wandering about homeless. Manual labor has become almost unknown to many of us. Perhaps things should be that way. It makes sense that in a settled Church, the faithful should care for their clergy and set them apart so that the clergy may pray for them, study for them, and do the works that feed and form them spiritually.
Of greater concern to me, however, is the inability and even unwillingness of too many clergy to suffer as a result of preaching the Gospel as St. Paul describes. Paul speaks of the apostles as persecuted, slandered, roughly treated, considered refuse, sneered at, scorned, last in line, and like unto those doomed to die in the arena. Lest we think that this is mere Jewish hyperbole, recall that St. Paul himself was cast out of many a synagogue, flogged, stoned, run out of towns, jailed, shipwrecked, and finally martyred. All of this was because he preached the Word of God.
Yet we clergy today can hardly bear to have an eyebrow raised at us. Too many of us play it safe when it comes to preaching. Perhaps we are afraid of upsetting our benefactors. Or perhaps it is just the human tendency to avoid conflict, to want to be liked and to fit in. Perhaps for some (I pray only a few) it is the fear that clerical advancement might be hindered by preaching too boldly or even just preaching clearly.
The lay faithful notice that many of us avoid Gospel teachings that are too challenging. They notice the retreat into abstractions, generalities, and even obfuscation. Indeed, they notice that many clergy dare not risk offense or the pain that comes from being the object of another’s anger and opposition.
Even if we modern clergy are far from Paul’s experience of homelessness and hunger, we ought not to be so far from his experience of persecution and suffering for the Word of God. As the Directory for the Ministry and Life of Priests and the Second Vatican Council teach, the Word of God is the primum officium (the first or primary duty) of the priest (See Presbyterorum Ordinis # 4). This is because no one can be saved who does not first believe, and faith proclaimed is necessary to unlock the sacraments. If we don’t get our preaching and teaching right and are not willing to suffer if necessary, then we don’t have anything else right.
I am less concerned about the fact that we clergy no longer live in abject poverty than that we may have become soft on account of the comforts that have been extended to us. Our comfortable lives have made some of us soft and given us the sense that we have too much to lose. Unlike St. Paul, we can hardly bear the slightest critique or scorn. We even fear that children won’t like us, won’t think we’re “cool.” It is hard to imagine most of us being willing to join Paul in jail, at the flogging post, in the stoning pit, or shipwrecked on the way to execution. We might even be among the naysayers who would say, “Paul is too extreme. He is too certain and argumentative.” Frankly, most of us modern clergy would find the real Jesus shocking, too.
It has been my experience that the people of God can handle strong preaching more than we clergy think. Indeed, many are outright appreciative of courageous, bold, and clear preaching. Even if we encounter resistance, though, we are supposed to preach anyway: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and encourage with every form of patient instruction (2 Tim 4:2).
We do not seek a fight or to provoke anger, but if we preach the Gospel in season and out of season, anger and fights often find us. Does the persecution on account of the Word described by Paul even remotely resemble anything we face in modern clerical life? And if not, why not?
What I say to priests, I say to parents, to elders, and to every Catholic baptized and sharing in the prophetic office of Christ.
Monsignor Pope Ping!
No.
Easy one to answer, no we are not.
Too much to lose. Especially in America, the Church is largely irrelevant because it is not resisting the culture of Sodom. Along with security comes complacency and capitulation.
You only need to read the Bible to see what Paul went through. It was tough;really tougher than probably most any of us can realize or certainly relate to.
Many of the faithful WANT strong preaching, long for strong preaching, would be thrilled at long bloody last to actually HEAR strong preaching. Give us The Truth, and let the chips fall where they may.
We do not seek a fight or to provoke anger, but if we preach the Gospel in season and out of season, anger and fights often find us. Does the persecution on account of the Word described by Paul even remotely resemble anything we face in modern clerical life? And if not, why not?
But there are individuals the Spirit has a hold of. There are many suffering for the Kingdom, but we don’t see them. God always has a remnant.
There is ample warning in the scriptures of Paul however to get and stay away from any religious people who look, act and teach like Catholic priests...And then there this joke:
It makes sense that in a settled Church, the faithful should care for their clergy and set them apart so that the clergy may pray for them, study for them, and do the works that feed and form them spiritually.
Sure, they will study 'for you' so you won't find out what God says about them...
In the 1950's, going to church meant sitting, kneeling and standing at the ring of some pretty chimey bells an alter boy would ring at times that to ME, didn't have any reason ... everything was in Latin and in about an hour we would walk across the street to the parochial Catholic school (we were all public school kids, Catholic school kids never attended children's' mass .... they didn't have to ... they got their indoctrination all week long.)
An hour later after non-stop Catechism class, we were released and walked home.
Every Sunday until I said, "No".
I got saved at the age of thirty three and I started attending a Baptist church because I wanted to be baptized and I thought that was the best place to go.
I HEARD PREACHING FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE.
NOW to respond to this thread
The author spent a long time addressing the physical part of what it is to be a Catholic priest and touched on some spiritual mores, but never answered his own question using his own Paul.
In my Baptist church, I listen to about an hours' worth of preaching. A man stands for an hour and talks, expounds on, explains and drills home something from the Word of God that I can sink my teeth into and say "Amen" to.
And my pastor has something new every week because life continues to go on and there is always something new or a little different than last year to preach on, always with the intent of bringing someone who is not born again, into a saving awareness of Jesus and leading that one to Christ.
I never heard preaching in my life while in a Catholic church.
I never heard preaching that was way longer than anything some might call ritual in a Catholic church.
Catholics would do well to get rid of the trappings and just preach.
The authors should have said, "We spend more time on being Catholic and not so much leading people to Jesus for salvation"
Because THAT is the difference
What I say to priests, I say to parents, to elders, and to every Catholic baptized and sharing in the prophetic office of Christ.
Ok, now what does that mean? Answering that question probably requires more Bible reading that most want to devote.
One could read about all the prophets and focus on their common suffering OR one could read all the about the prophets and focus on their COMMON MESSAGE.
Everyone of God’s prophets said keep doing what you are doing and something bad is going to happen to you, (paraphrase) or “Repent and turn to God”
(quote)
You want suffer for the Kingdom, start telling people to repent and turn to God.
I will oppose Satan
All of his works and
All of his pomps
I took it ~25 years ago
Dear Jesus how far have we fallen in our cowardice
In typical FReeper fashion, I didn’t really read the article so my response is only to the title.
I believe that Paul and the modern church did not have any concept of clergy. To them, the clergy was the Pharisee and the Sanhedrin, who were totally and completely corrupted in their quest for power.
The Bible clearly speaks of the Priesthood of believers, in that we are all priests and saints, none to se set above the others.
There is a place for elders and deacons, but I also believe that these are not specific positions in which they are paid for. Most of the churches I’ve attended over the years follow this pattern. The leaders of the church (elders/deacons) are employed in regular jobs and volunteer their services. That model seems to work very well, especially when there is a plurality of leadership. Thus, one man cannot lead by his opinion, instead, decisions are tempered by the group of leaders. It generally works well to keep the church on track biblically and practically.
The institutional church is incapable of reflecting the Body of Christ. It is a cultural icon. The Body of Christ exists in the lives of His followers who are in and out of the established church. We see Christ at work in the Trump administration. He is much less conspicuous in the swamp.
**not resisting the culture of Sodom**
But shouldn’t the preachers be doing this?
** alter boy **
How was he altered?
Roman Catholic priest Monsignor Charles Pope was told earlier this week that he could no longer use his title on his Facebook page.
The question is, "Why?'
The only answer my wife and I can come up with is that 'lovey-dovey' is easy. It requires no deep thinking.
There are no 'real' intellects in the priesthood. They don't analyze or question and blindly follow whatever comes out of the Vatican.
Paul never saw a NT church “priest” - nor included it as an office of the church in Scripture.
Nor did Peter...
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