Letter to Ann T. Clerikuhl continued. (This section is remarkably confusing and
much of it is fine print that can be glossed over.)
When I was first a pastor, the principal of
the school, a formidable woman strode up the side aisle of the church where she
found me reading my breviary. She glared at me saying. “There is no heat in the
school!”
To which I responded, “In all my years of
seminar, I took not one course in boiler maintenance.” I then put down my breviary, got up, went to
the basement, started randomly pushing buttons, and, voila! The heat kicked
on.
What is the job of the priest? In brief,
whatever you want it to be at the moment.
One of the questions most frequently asked of me, “Where is the
bathroom?” The next statement is usually, “there is no toilet paper in the
bathroom.” I remember a call at 10:30 PM
one night, the caller asking if perhaps her purse had been found in the parish
hall after bingo. The answer was “No, not to my knowledge.”
“Father could you down to the hall and
look?”
Again, good priest guilt kicks in. You may
think, “How hard was that?” You have 2.3 children who are always losing things.
It makes you crazy. I have a thousand children. I could sit by the phone all
night waiting for interesting phone calls.
When I first came to this parish, the drunken
stalker of a long dead pastor called a few times a night demanding to know his
current telephone number. The good priest sleeps next to his phone, so that he
can rush to the hospital in the middle of the night. I must admit that by this
standard I am not a very good priest.
We have this image of the radically available
priest waiting by the phone and coming to the death bed for the last minute
conversion. This happens. I have actually done this a number of times. The
number of drunks calling the rectory in the middle of the night is far greater
than the repentant sinner at death’s door and after a while Father gets pretty
tired. The life of the priest, as portrayed by popular culture and imagined by
those who don’t actually know priests, is not a life that can be lived for a
very long time. So what are the duties
of the priest? They are very well
spelled out in canon law beginning with canon 273. You can skip the fine print
if you want to, but I thought it might be interesting. (You can find them in
their entirety in the Code of Canon Law available on the web, and a real page
turner.)
Can. 275-2.
Clerics are to acknowledge and promote the mission which the laity, each for
his or her part, exercise in the Church and in the world.
Can. 276-1. In leading their
lives, clerics are bound in a special way to pursue holiness since, having been
consecrated to God by a new title in the reception of orders, they are
dispensers of the mysteries of God in the service of His people…..they are to
nourish their spiritual life from the two-fold table of sacred scripture and
the Eucharist; therefore, priests are earnestly invited to offer the
Eucharistic sacrifice daily and deacons to participate in its offering daily; (they) are obliged to carry out the liturgy
of the hours daily. They are equally bound to make time for spiritual retreats.
They are urged to engage in mental prayer regularly, to approach the sacrament
of penance frequently, to honor the Virgin Mother of God with particular
veneration, and to use other common and particular means of sanctification.
Can. 277-1. Clerics… are bound to celibacy.
Can. 279-1. Clerics
are to pursue sacred studies and to attend pastoral lectures, theological
meetings, and conferences.
Can. 281-1. Since
clerics dedicate themselves to ecclesiastical ministry, they deserve
remuneration… by which they can provide for the necessities of their life.
And here are some the duties of pastors:
Can. 528-1. A
pastor is obliged to make provision so that the word of God is proclaimed in
its entirety to those living in the parish; for this reason, he is to take care
that the lay members of the Christian faithful are instructed in the truths of
the faith, especially by giving a homily on Sundays and holy days of obligation
and by offering catechetical instruction. He is to foster works through which
the spirit of the gospel is promoted, even in what pertains to social justice.
He is to have particular care for the Catholic education of children and youth.
He is to make every effort, even with the collaboration of the Christian
faithful, so that the message of the gospel comes also to those who have ceased
the practice of their religion or do not profess the true faith.
Can.528-2. The
pastor is to see to it that the Most Holy Eucharist is the center of the parish
assembly of the faithful. He is to work so that the Christian faithful are
nourished through the devout celebration of the sacraments and, in a special
way, that they frequently approach the sacraments of the Most Holy Eucharist
and penance. He is also to endeavor that they are led to practice prayer even
as families and take part consciously and actively in the sacred liturgy which,
under the authority of the diocesan bishop, the pastor must direct in his own
parish and is bound to watch over so that no abuses creep in.
Can. 529-1.
In order to fulfill his office diligently, a pastor is to strive to know the
faithful entrusted to his care.
Can. 530 The
following functions are especially entrusted to a pastor: 1/ the administration
of baptism; 2/ the administration of the sacrament of confirmation to those who
are in danger of death 3/ the administration of Viaticum and of the anointing
of the sick; 4/ the assistance at marriages and the nuptial blessing; 5/ the
performance of funeral rites;6/ the blessing of the baptismal font at Easter
time, the leading of processions and solemn blessings7/ the more solemn
Eucharistic celebration on Sundays and holy days of obligation.
Can. 532 He
is to take care that the goods of the parish are administered according to the
norm of canons. 1281-1288. (these canons talk about the duties of the good
householder and his employment of people to maintain the facility)
Can. 533-1.
A pastor is obliged to reside in a rectory near the church. §2. Unless there is
a grave reason to the contrary, a pastor is permitted to be absent from the
parish each year for vacation for at most one continuous or interrupted month.
Let’s
sum it up: I have to pray the breviary
daily, to share the word of God, offer Sunday and Holyday Masses, make sure the
sacraments are administered, to get to know the faithful of ONE parish, to
continue to study and pray. I am invited to say daily Mass, though not
required. I am required to say the breviary. And oh, I get one month’s vacation
every year.
There is a word that weaves its way in and
out of the text. That word is FAITHFUL!!!!
I am not an evangelist. That’s the job of the laity. I am not supposed
to administer sacraments to the UNFAITHFUL, no matter what you’ve seen in a
made for TV movie. One of my major jobs is to get you to do your job. What’s
your job? It’s to live a holy life, praying, participating in the Eucharist,
studying, performing the works of mercy and above all being Christ in the
world. I am not a vending machine of sacraments for the marginally religious. I
am supposed to bring the lapsed back to the practice of the faith, not to gloss
over the fact that they haven’t darkened the church door since the Nixon administration.
And here is one of my absolute favorites:
Can. 515-1.
A parish is a certain community of the Christian faithful stably constituted in
a particular church, whose pastoral care is entrusted to a pastor.
Hmmm…..A
community of the Christian FAITHFUL. Did you read that? FAITHFUL??? Again let me say “FAITHFUL.” You
catch my drift. “So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the
evangelists, the pastors and teachers.” (Ephesians 4:11). The sooner we know
the difference between pastors and evangelists, the better off we’ll be. The
faithful need shepherds. The faithless need Christ. Parishes need to be
restructured to admit the current reality instead of living in a black and
white Bing Crosby movie about the “Bells of St. Delilah’s.”
Next week: more of this
stuff, but aimed at deacons
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