Things I wonder about priests....

This last Sunday, one of the priests at our parish announced that he just recieved notice that he is being moved to another parish. He is a wonderful priest and we will miss him greatly. While I'd gone to him for Confession from time to time, I didn't really get to know him until he took over a particular gathering for the young adults in our area, and found him to be a great ally and supporter. When I began teaching RCIA he took some time to talk to me and provide some direction. And when I taught my first class, which was the impossible topic of "Catholic Social Doctrine", he stopped in just as my talk ended to see how things had gone. And actually, he gave me some encouragement before that class and answered some of my last-minute questions which could not be found in any book. (Or none that I had).

I've come to know him also as a joker and we, the parishioners, often enjoyed the good-natured verbal sparring which took place between him and another of our priests. This, also, will be missed.

I have found that not only does the parish community make the parish feel like "home", but also knowing the priests not just on Sundays, but in other times as well, and recognize in them the people that they are.

We live in a strange culture in which priests on one hand are still very much respected; and on the other hand, they are regarded with complete suspicion and even outright rejection. Father Corapi has discussed the rejection part; God forbid that a priest reach out to hug a child, or be alone with a woman, for fear of accusations. In the past, priests were recognized as "Men of God" and treated with a certain esteem that is lacking in our society. Our culture values money and hedonism over sacrifice; relativism over religion, and the pursuit of money over the pursuit of holiness.

I think it's a miracle when a man becomes a priest in today's world.

Our parish is very large, and has been blessed with several wonderful priests, each with a specific set of gifts, each a true Father. And now we are losing one to a parish that, in all liklihood, desperately needs him.

So this has caused me to ask some questions and ponder some realities of the life of a priest.

First of all, given the current situation, there has been an outpouring of gratification to Father as he is leaving; even witnessing the expression of someone's gratitude brings tears to MY eys! I have no idea how hard it must be for Father to stand up there and not get teary-eyed himself!

Secondly, I am aware that one of the reasons priests are moved after a particular period of time (in our archdiocese it's around 12 years) - it is to prevent a certain "culture" from developing, a "cult of priest", etc. Priests do have to guard, to a certain degree, from becoming too attached, but I have to wonder how do they NOT become attached?

I'll admit that certain customers have really touched me in some ways, and my dealings with them are not nearly as intimate as a priest and parishioner. After all, it is the priest, by the authority of Jesus himself, who brings us His body and blood, who gives us absolution, who knows our secrets, gives us counsel, etc. These are powerful things, and I would think a priest would have to be inhuman not to be moved by the people he shepherds. And of course, this isn't a "job", it's a VOCATION; a specific calling.

Do priests see their parishes as family? Do certain people stand out to them, as they often do to us? Are priests today welcomed into families and do they maintain contact with some people even after they are moved to a different parish?

As much as I'll miss the priest who is leaving our parish, I won't be going out of my way to contact him becaues I recognize that he is moving on and has to give his attentions to a new parish family. Yet, does it mean something to the priest to be visited on occasion, or be contacted by previous parishioners? It is encouraging? Should we make an effort to stay in contact with some of our priests who have gone on to other pastures?

One of the things that I want to do, as a Catholic woman, is to encourage vocations, and part of that, I think, is to encourage our existing priests and recognize them for what they do every day. My life is better for the priests I have known, and were it not for them and their leadership, I'd still be limping along, begging God not to give up on me. (Well, I guess I'm STILL doing that...)

Human beings are designed to form attachments, so breaking those legitimate attachments is always difficult. I would imagine that a priest, during his service at any given parish, tends to form some strong bonds. Is it hard to leave? How do they handle it?

Clearly I look at this from the persepctive of a woman, and women tend to be more emotionally driven, so perhaps my questions just seem odd. But I can't help feeling like I'm losing a member of my family, in a way...my really big, really Catholic, really huge parish family.

So maybe it comes to this; do priests really get attached to their parishes in even a few years, or do they detach enough so that their moving isn't so difficult?