The Good Pastor

 "Jesus went around teaching from village to village. Calling the Twelve to him, he sent them out two by two and gave them authority over evil spirits. These were his instructions: 'Take nothing for the journey except a staff -- no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. Wear sandals but do not bring a second tunic. Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave, as a testimony against them.' " [Mark 6: 7-11].

The call to the priesthood has not changed much in over 2,000 years. When a man is called to the priesthood, he travels light. He brings no food, and few possessions. He leaves his moneyclip and his valuables behind. The priest is provided with vestments from the Church, he owns a simple set of everyday clothes, a few books and personal mementos. To pack and move on is a very simple task, indeed.

Today, in a rectory or retreat house room, there is "a single bed, a desk and chair, a sink, a rocking chair, and a crucifix on the wall.[From "The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything; A Spirituality For Real Life", By James Martin, SJ].

 A priest is married to the Church. He stays in his parish or mission as long as he is called to live there. He celebrates most holidays either alone, or with another priest. When he is called to move on, despite deep regrets at leaving the church that has been both his home and his workplace, he obediently moves on -- just as the Apostles did before him.

I wish more of us would give clergy members the credit that they deserve. I have had pastors telephone me when my mother died. When I returned to Mass the day after my mother's funeral, a pastor greeted me just inside the door of the church. I was so desperately sad, I wanted to bolt, but he was there leading me into exactly the place I needed to be.

Pastors celebrate the birth of our children, and they baptize them. They are there to offer our children their First Reconciliation and their First Communion.

I get almost deathly sick with my chronic lung disease sometimes, and when I finally make it back to church, the pastor is always there to tell me, "Take care of yourself."

There ARE good pastors today, good priests, who take their job as Good Shepherds very seriously. A few clergy- not all of them Catholic-- have committed egregious and criminal acts, for which they can and should be punished.

But priests, and the Catholic Church do not deserve to be universally vilified. I was reading an article recently that was written by Sam Miller, prominent Cleveland Jewish businessman. In this article, he states, "Do you know that the Catholic Church educates 2.6 million students everyday at a cost to the Church of 10 billion dollars, and a savings to the American taxpayer of 18 billion dollars.The students go on to graduate studies at the rate of 92%." Who do you think teaches these students? Priests. Nuns. Catholic believers.

Mr. Miller goes on: "The press. . . has been trying to totally denigrate in every way the Catholic Church in this country. They have blamed the disease of pedophilia on the Catholic Church, which is as irresponsible as blaming adultery on the institution of marriage. Let me give you some figures that Catholics should know and remember: 12% of the 300 Protestant clergy surveyed admitted to sex  with a parishioner; 38% acknowledged other inappropriate sexual contact in a study by the United Methodist Chruch; 41.8% of clergy women reported unwanted sexual behaviors. Meanwhile 1.7% of the Catholic clergy has been found guilty of pedophilia; 10% of Protestant ministers have been found guilty of pedophilia. This is not [solely] a Catholic problem."

I admit that I agonized over my call to convert to Catholicism, which came at the time of some of the worst evidence of abuse in the Church. It took all I had to separate out the few nefarious men from the good of the whole of the Church. I had to recognize that most priests are like the pastors I know, who are gentle and wise-- who are men to be only admired.  

A friend and wise woman told me: "WE are the church! Your friends, your neighbors etc." That is, we are ALL called to be Good Stewards, and to love and care for one another.

Mr. Miller, (a Jewish man, not Catholic!) concludes: Walk with your shoulders high and your head higher. Be proud to speak up for your faith with pride and reverence, and learn what the Church does for all other religions."

I cannot condone the actions of a few. I do not want to be associated in any way with what they have done. I can only stand up as a Christian, and try to do good and be good, in a world that is often so very wrong. I would say to you, that many, many priests are admirable examples of this ideal as well, if only we would care to look.

(c) The Spiritual Devotional 2012. All Rights Reserved.