Sunday 11 August 2013

The Ogre Of The Parish

We all know that none of us can please everyone –even Our Blessed Lord did not please everyone. But I have to say that, though I am naturally attracted to family life and the intimacy of husband and wife (which is where I believe my call to be -or at least hope it is!) after having worked in the parish office I feel positively put-off the priesthood. Not only because our priests are wrongly maltreated by the public for the failures of the few; not only because during vocation discernment evenings we had the Host exposed on a small coffee table with tea-lights in the middle of a living room; nor because during a discernment weekend at the seminary we sat around as strangers for group work where we shared details of our ‘former’ lives and mistakes. No; it is that I have realised that while most Catholics are very patient, accommodating and supportive of their priests, some can be merciless if upset, which can happen if there is a mistyped name in the Mass list or a delay in offering a Mass (which is usual, because almost everyone requests the weekend with fewer people attending weekday Masses). As with retailers, so with the Church: we are much more likely to profess a complaint than an affirmation. Yes there are things our priests do that cause us to make complaints to or about them. This is true of Father Dickson too. What are the terrible errors of which Father is guilty? 

Unbelievably, this ogre has the nerve:

to use sung Latin chants for the ordinary of the Novus Ordo, as directed by Vatican II;

to remind us that frequent reception of Holy Communion and frequent Confession go together, as explained by Redemptionis sacramentum (32);
to offer Mass ad orientem as found in the rubrics of the ‘new’ Mass;
to remind us that the norm for Holy Communion is still on the tongue and that reception on the hand is only by way of special permission to a country from Rome;
to require those seeking to receive Baptism, Confirmation or First Holy Communion to attend Mass at least during the Instruction period, and be instructed in the norm for receiving Holy Communion;
to carry out the purifications himself as determined by the General Instruction (163) and Redemptionis Sacramentum (119);
to use both forms of the Mass on Sundays in accord with Summorum Pontificum
to preach that Missing Sunday Mass, cohabiting, using contraception, or supporting/engaging in abortion, euthanasia or homosexual activity is gravely sinful and requires Confession before we next receive Holy Communion;
to preach on the necessity of doing good and avoiding evil; the necessity of personal prayer, reception of the Sacraments, the possibility of hell, and the glory of Heaven.

Of course I am jesting that Father “has the nerve” to do all this, but in fact it does take nerve because I have seen how it irritates some people, including other priests who, in my experience, are not following the documents, perhaps from a well-founded fear of offending the people of today by explaining that God has given us an objective moral truth to live by.


Father Dickson is, I think, appreciated for organising summer garden parties, setting up our coffee mornings for our three regular charities (SPUC, WaterAid and Aid to the Church in Need) for regularly consulting via preference slips in the Newsletter and especially for always responding to crisis calls, and he won’t give a man of the road a sandwich and cup of tea without sitting with them. He often says he needs to be more patient, more prayerful, more generous with his time and talents, and that may be true -who am I to say? But he always apologises if he has been sharp with anyone, and is troubled when health issues stop him visiting the school and the housebound. In my opinion the vast majority of parishioners, while they may be irritated by our liturgy and doctrine, are appreciative, kind and generous with Father and their priests. Perhaps what is sad to note is that supportive comments come in less often than criticisms, though this is probably part of fallen human nature: as I said, we are much more ready to return to a retail outlet to complain than we are to affirm them. Oh that our Bishops would realise this! After all, complainants are not always valid; sometimes they are exaggerated because of a dislike for correctly-done liturgy or sound teaching, and complainants don’t, in my experience, always act from good motive. Yes indeed complaints must be heard, but so too must the priest. I wonder if this aspect of justice is truly followed today, or if we have become just a little too ready to presume the priests are at fault...

15 comments:

  1. "to preach that Missing Sunday Mass, cohabiting, using contraception, or supporting/engaging in abortion, euthanasia or homosexual activity is gravely sinful and requires Confession before we next receive Holy Communion;"

    Ever since my conversion from Protestantism to the one true - catholic - faith seven years ago I never heard a sermon about one of these issues although I always went to the holy masses of the so called "Tradition".
    My husband and our son who are also converts to the faith would be delighted if we could ever hear a sermon adressing one of those vital issues.

    By the way: beeing unjustly persecuted for proclaiming the faith and its moral obligations is a grace!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you for your comment.

      Perhaps your priest is one of those who fears offending people; it is a natural thing to want to hold back from offence -though we do get grace if we preach and live it.

      Delete
  2. O how right you are Andrew. You could be describing the life of a number of priests that I know (especially those of a traditional mind like Fr Gary). As you know some priests are moving or have moved & I would place money on the fact that whilst they no longer have those complainers in their parish, they will find a brand new lot when they arrive at their new parish.
    It always seemed as if parishioners thought that at ordination their priest became a priest, a plumber, an electrician, an accountant etc but I think that ordination should make all priests acceptable to all parishioners - I wish!
    By the way not a very good portrait of Fr Gary!! LOL

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  3. Thanks for your comment.

    Yes, I describe the life of many a priest I think (and many a vocation-discernment experience).

    PS. Father Dickson says the likeness may not match his outside at the moment, but the reality is catching up to the image -which he says does capture him on his inside! I'm not sure I agree...

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  4. Scarred (scared?) pupil12 August 2013 at 20:23

    Actually, the drawing looks very much like my old headmaster. Others may also recognise him. I had better not say any more.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for your comment.

      Perhaps I should have attached a note to the drawing... "any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental"!

      Delete
  5. We priests all took an oath [to God] before ordination and on appointment to each parish, to uphold faithfully all the Church's teaching and laws and to celebrate the liturgy in the way the Church wants it celebrated. Fr. Dickson is simply doing what he promised to do - I would expect nothing less of any priest. Of course we could all be hugely popular by letting people do whatever they want and telling them they just have to be nice & give money to charity. That is not love though, neither from parents to children, nor from priest to people.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you for your comment Father.

      We have a dedicated liturgical and catechetical team who work hard at getting the liturgy and doctrine right. Unfortunately the people who went through changes following Vatican II seem unwillingly to ‘go back’ because they believe themselves to be ‘freed’ by the relativism of today.

      Delete
  6. What a shame people in parishes don't take the time to get to know the real "ogres": surely they would find caring, compassionate priests; always there in times of trouble, lending an ear and giving help and advice. And always there to care for the dying and the family they leave behind.

    I think our priests undergo a certain ‘martyrdom’ despite being labelled . I think in many parishes many miss out not only on prayer in the Lord’s Presence but on speaking to their priests when they hear the ‘starting pistol’ at the end of Mass and dash for the exits.

    Dear "Ogres" , my prayers are with you all. God Bless and keep you.

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    1. Thanks for your comment.

      I don’t think it’s easy for priests who try to be faithful in liturgy and doctrine: there seems to be a prejudice that a priest CANNOT be committed to reverent liturgy, faithful doctrine AND pastoral care –the Church spent the last 2,000 years developing reverent liturgy whilst becoming one of the worlds the largest voluntary social service providers! Perhaps we've forgotten the education and healthcare given to the underprivileged over the centuries by the Monasteries; and the Curé of Ars, St. Charles Borromeo, St. John Bosco...

      Delete
  7. I wish we had priests around my neck of the world like this Fr. you are writing about. He sounds too good to be true. Count your blessings and treat him very well, these guys are hard to find now-a-days. In my area we have the liberal/progressive priests who don't wear their clerics and show up at Mass some dressed sloppier than me in outdoor work clothes for the week, and I am not kidding. Our churches are more like bingo halls and the attention is all on the choirs and clapping for their performances, getting Mass over quick so everyone can get out faster, money, money and more money and feeling good with "LUV" homilies.I don't think anyone even knows why they are there sad to say, and the noise level before, during and after Mass is aweful. Poor Jesus! God Bless Fr. Dickson and those who are like him. Time we clean our seminaries out and revamp them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for your comment.

      The priest rates himself very low, as you will see from the post. Truly, we could all be better, but I note his courage in at least trying to keep 'c'atholics Catholic. BTW, our parish was a bingo hall too when Father Dickson arrived, but has settled to a nice quiet atmosphere -though with reluctance from some folk who think Father is OTT!

      Delete
  8. Dear Andrew
    Your parish is really lucky that Fr Dickson does all these things for his parishioners. It shows he's really looking out for thier souls and knows what a priest is.

    Gripers remind me of the people of Nazareth who didn't recognise/want Jesus and tried to throw him over a cliff! (Hope I got that NT story correct...)

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    1. Thanks for your comment.

      Father does try to do what is right but his health problems hold him back a bit -and he is always complaining he is not holy enough, something I can't comment on.

      Delete
  9. O how right you are Andrew. You could be describing the life of a number of priests that I know (especially those of a traditional mind like Fr Gary). As you know some priests are moving or have moved & I would place money on the fact that whilst they no longer have those complainers in their parish, they will find a brand new lot when they arrive at their new parish.
    It always seemed as if parishioners thought that at ordination their priest became a priest, a plumber, an electrician, an accountant etc but I think that ordination should make all priests acceptable to all parishioners - I wish!
    By the way not a very good portrait of Fr Gary!! LOL

    ReplyDelete

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