Putting things in perspective: There Are Holy Priests, Too (They just don't make headlines)

National Review ^ | 09/17/2018 | Kathryn Jean Lopez

[SeekAndFind]

I’ve been thinking a lot about priests lately. In truth, I often do, as some of my best friends happen to wear Roman collars. I see them on their low days, and I see them in moments of true total self-surrender. Of course, you know why I’d be thinking about them even more lately. For priests who seek holiness in loving service to God’s people — striving to see God in every person they encounter — these are grueling times. And a few conversations I’ve had lately have reminded me that the good and holy among them, while still human beings, can have a lot of wisdom to offer — if they are true pray-ers. I know some of them, thanks be to God. And they help me see more clearly.

Advertisement

One of the priests I’ve been thinking a lot about lately is on the other side of the veil between here and eternity. Father Arne Panula was most recently director of the Catholic Information Center (CIC) in Washington, D.C., a hub for many things truly Catholic. I still have a vivid memory of seeing him after he had a very close call in his battle with cancer. Back from the brink, he had taken Amtrak from D.C. for a dinner in New York. He seemed as close as an encounter with resurrection as one can get, and he was wearing a radiance that could have only been of God.

It was clear that the end was still coming for him soon, and that the rest of us there needed to see him as a message from God to be careful about falling into rabbit holes, getting caught up in the things of the world, falling into endless distraction, and being ruled by our emotions. The added time he got was also enough time for my friend Mary Eberstadt to sit down with him and ask him every question she ever wanted to, for his final record.

At the CIC, he was a revered spiritual director, accompanying people in discerning God’s will for them. Her transcripts of their conversations will be published next month under the title “The Last Homily.” Parts of it read as if he’s directing us through this current moment in the Church. It’s a reminder that the Christian call is the same whatever the season — a call to truly live God’s will — and that our role in being the solution has everything to do with living well, as Father Arne did.

Eberstadt asked him about what he tells young people about charity. His answer wasn’t initially about putting money in a collection basket or giving to the man on the corner (though he gets to the man on your commute home soon thereafter). Instead he addressed “the most corrosive impediments to charity: anger, vindictiveness, suspicion.” “Understand that you are a tempting target for the devil.”

Given darkness in our midst, this grabbed my attention.

“Diabolo,” Father Arne said, “means literally ‘scatterer.’”

And that is how evil operates: by putting obstacles between individuals and true community. His first weapon is lust. The sexual appetite is all-powerful, because it engenders a powerful good: the propagation of humanity itself. When the sexual appetite is turned to selfish self-indulgence, it destroys not only individuals, but a whole culture. When lust doesn’t work for the devil, or even if it does, he goes after charity. Once more: suspicion, vindictiveness, anger, and other such feelings are inimical to charity, because they divide people from one another. In all cases, I encourage spiritual jujitsu. When you begin to feel any of these divisive emotions, be self-aware, and immediately say a prayer for whoever is the object of your anger or resentment. This sets your spiritual house in order, and keeps you closer to community, and less scattered.

He explained: “The first line of thought I’d advance about charity is the necessity of getting one’s spiritual, interior life framed correctly, the better to give the right sort of material help.”

About scandal in the Church, he said: “Any priest who says Mass every day, or the Liturgy of the Hours . . . isn’t fertile territory for the evil seeds that led to the scandals.”

Perhaps now more than ever, for priests and Catholics of all states in life, this is a moment to choose to not get caught up in confusion, which is legion at the moment in the Church and many other places. Adopt practices of virtue, stick with them, increase their role in your life. See them as the part of the solution, because they are.

Father Arne had such a serene yet commanding nature about him. And it would draw you not to him but to the God he served. When you think of priests, every time you hear a news mention of the Catholic Church these days, consider saying a prayer that they might have what he had: Christ — radiating Him to others by the way he prayed, smiled, talked, and lived. You’ll see Him by his love.

This column is based on one available through Andrews McMeel Universal’s Newspaper Enterprise Association.

[MeganC]

The good priests are invariably tarnished by their silence when they’ve seen the bad priests and bad leaders cover up crimes committed by child molesters in robes.

The Roman Catholic Church will not stand if it continues to arrogantly expect people to kiss the rings of pedophiles and pederasts.

What’s called for here is humility, atonement, penance, and piety.

None of those things are coming from Rome and Rome’s lack of these virtues will soon lead governments around the world to place the safety of their children ahead of the RCC.

[kenmcg]

The good priests are victims too. They bear the burden of the foul balls, but until they get together and purge the ranks of the predators and the enablers the church will continue to suffer.

[2nd Amendment]

Please correct me if I am wrong. I am a baptist who believes you must trust Jesus to be saved. But I run into trouble with other believers who say a Catholic cannot be saved because they worship Mary and have idols like prayer beads. But I believe there are humble village priests that have given their all to serve Jesus and the poor around them. How can anyone say that Mother Theresa or John Paul II did not truly love Jesus? I know I’m wading into deep waters here that have not been solved in 2 millenia of history. Are there not charismatic Catholics that rejoice in the love of Jesus Christ?

[Wonder Warthog]

"But I run into trouble with other believers who say a Catholic cannot be saved because they worship Mary and have idols like prayer beads."

1) Catholics don't "worship" Mary, they deeply respect her. The Church's constant teaching since 400AD (and probably earlier) is that one respects the saints, respects Mary above the saints, and worships ONLY the Triune God. The Latin terms used are "dulia", "hyperdulia", and "latria". Note that the last term is the only one that means "worship".

2) "Prayer Beads" are not idols. They are a mnemonic to keep track of prayers said.

[Mrs. Don-o]

Thank you for your gracious words. I'm Catholic and have the pleasure and privilege of knowing a lot of good non-Catholic Christians, since all of my husband's side of the family are Baptists or some other kindred kind. Plus, here in Upper East Tennessee less than 2% of the population are Catholics, so naturally other kinds of Christians predominate in the things I'm interested in, like pro-life, better green tomato recipes, religious liberty, lose weight now without diet or exercise, and shape-note singing.

I find the other-Christians I know "in real life" are some of the best people in the world, and we have no trouble understanding each other. There's high trust, no spite and lots of mutual God Bless.

It is unfortunate that the same can't be said for (some of) the interfaith relations here at FR, because there is almost always a

HUGE SQUEAKIN' SQUEALIN' FREEPIN' FRACAS

going on somewhere in the Religion Forum. If I had to judge people by that alone, I would say the WHOLE PASSEL of us (variety-pack Christians) are about as winsome as pushing your lawn mower through a nest of yellow jackets.

But I'll gladly take all that back because, fortunately, all that fracas, seen in real-life perspective, is de minimis.

Long way 'round of saying that I think the closer we are to Christ, the closer we are to love, and that works every time.

NOTE: DO keep in mind that we don't worship rosaries and statues. We now worship felt banners ;oD

[Buckeye McFrog]

What’s called for here is humility, atonement, penance, and piety.

What we are getting is lawyering, spin, lies, and accusations leveled at the accusers. Apparently all the years of homilies on humility were only meant for those of us out in the pews.

[Buckeye McFrog]

Catholics don't "worship" Mary, they deeply respect her.

I know many (primarily older) Catholics who, in practice, do cross that line.

[SeekAndFind]

RE: Catholics don’t “worship” Mary, they deeply respect her.

Is it not true that Catholics today pray to Mary who would pray to Christ who would intercede with the Father?

I heard a priest’s homily where he said Mary is the Queen of Heaven and so, we should pray to her, who will put in a good word with Jesus for us. She is the MEDIATOR to God.

[Mrs. Don-o]

I never knew any, but I heard a joke about one.

Old Mrs. O'Brien was kneeling in her pew one sunny Tuesday afternoon in her nearly-empty church, saying her rosary. There were some window-glaziers way up above her on scaffolding repairing the stained glass. Tim says to Mike, "Hey, I know that old lady, she's my neighbor. Think I'll have some fun with her."

Tim (in a deep solemn voice): "Mrs. O'Brien! Mrs. O'Brien!"."

(No response.)

Tim (deeper): "Mrs. O'Brien, I've come from Heaven, listen to me!"

(No response.)

Tim (more solemn than solemn): "Mrs. O'Brien, pay attention! This is Jesus!"

Mrs. O'Brien: "Hush now, laddie, I'm a-talkin' t' yer Mam."

`

[Mrs. Don-o]

Here's the thing: we're all members of the Body of Christ. Wherever we are,our connection is in Christ. We intercede for each other all the time. If my guess is right,I bet you do too.

[heterosupremacist]

RE: Catholics don’t “worship” Mary, they deeply respect her. Is it not true that Catholics today pray to Mary who would pray to Christ who would intercede with the Father? Mary is considered Co-Redemptrix, why? The Word {hypostatically} could not be truly Divine, and truly Human, unless he was born of a Human. Theotokos, Our Mother Mary was before time selected as the only one who would have the purity and sanctity required to shelter the Incarnate Word in her womb ( Ave Maria, Gratia plena ) She was "full of Grace" When Gabriel greeted her. Only the purest vessel could hold Purity Enfleshed, and it was prophesied the messiah would be born of a virgin'. We have a Father, and a Son, so why would God refuse us a Heavenly Mother? Mary's only message in the gospel accounts is, "Listen to my Son". Also in the times when Jesus roamed the earth, it was a commonly understood custom that the Kings would never refuse their Mother's requests (Kings mothers were designated Queens in ancient times, ergo, the Queen had more influence on the King than the entire King's Court combined. We do not worship Mary, worship and adoration belong only to the Most Holy Trinity but isn't their something lovely and sacred about a Mother's love? To be continued...

[NorthMountain]

We now worship felt banners

I would use them for a burnt offering ... but they stink.

[Mrs. Don-o]

To make it clearer, it’s in the sense “pray for each other” that you could use the term “mediate” or “intercede” or “make supplications”.

[heterosupremacist]

4give my poor formatting?

RE: Catholics don’t “worship” Mary, they deeply respect her. Is it not true that Catholics today pray to Mary who would pray to Christ who would intercede with the Father?

Mary is considered Co-Redemptrix, why? The Word {hypostatically} could not be truly Divine, and truly Human, unless he was born of a Human.

Theotokos, Our Mother Mary was before time selected as the only one who would have the purity and sanctity required to shelter the Incarnate Word in her womb ( Ave Maria, Gratia plena ) She was “full of Grace” When Gabriel greeted her.

Only the purest vessel could hold Purity Enfleshed, and it was prophesied the messiah would be born of a virgin’. We have a Father, and a Son, so why would God refuse us a Heavenly Mother? Mary’s only message in the gospel accounts is, “Listen to my Son”.

Also in the times when Jesus roamed the earth, it was a commonly understood custom that the Kings would never refuse their Mother’s requests (Kings mothers were designated Queens in ancient times, ergo, the Queen had more influence on the King than the entire King’s Court combined.

We do not worship Mary, worship and adoration belong only to the Most Holy Trinity but isn’t their something lovely and sacred about a Mother’s love? To be continued...

[Mrs. Don-o]

Ha! Ha!

All my burnt offerings are made in the kitchen.

(Opening the oven) "Oh, Lorrrddd..."

[heterosupremacist]

See below for proper formatting.

[Wonder Warthog]

"I know many (primarily older) Catholics who, in practice, do cross that line."

Gee....a mind reader, no less. Because that is what it would take to know such a thing.

[Wonder Warthog]

"She is the MEDIATOR to God."

No, she is A mediator to Jesus. Saints can also be mediators.

[NorthMountain]

Less disastrous than certain burnt offerings I have seen in an electronics lab ...