“…but among you it shall not be so. Rather, let the greatest among you be as the youngest, and the leader as the servant. For who is greater: the one seated at table or the one who serves? Is it not the one seated at table? I am among you as the one who serves.” Luke 22:26-27
I've been on a movie-thon the past few days, watching The Godfather trilogy. So, I'm watching the 3rd movie now and there's a beautiful scene involving Don Corleone (the "Godfather," so to speak) and a priest.
Overcome with grief for his countless sins (including one that he feels is unforgivable), he finds himself conversing with a cardinal. In the middle of the conversation, the Cardinal asks the Don if he would like to confess his sins, to which he obliges and does so. Through tears and sobs, he lays it all out for the Cardinal. The Cardinal then says, "Michael, your life can be redeemed...but I know you don't believe that, because you will not change, will you?" He then absolves him of his sins, and sends him on his way.
Why does this strike me so? Well, it's because I find the priests honesty to be beautiful. He doesn't speak in an accusatory-tone, nor does he pass judgment on the penitent; rather, he speaks his mind and tries to encourage Michael to redeem himself. This is just an example of the way 99% of the clergy in our Church are. They are loving, caring, compassionate, holy-men whose only goal in life is to faithfully-serve God, their Church, and their community. Yet, turn on the TV, flip on a movie, or listen to the radio and you'll find none of this; however, you will undoubtedly come in contact with disparaging, hateful, mocking-remarks made by people who aim to destroy the Catholic Church.
Sadly, there are priests who are exactly what these "pundits" say they are. But they are in the vast minority. Just like any group of people in this world, gathered for whatever reason: 99% of them will be good, 1% will be bad. I am not a scientist, nor do I have the research or statistics to prove my claim. I am just a Roman Catholic teenager who has been served by or come in contact with a hundred priests in his lifetime and have found them all to be nothing but wonderful men of God.
Think of the great things our former-pope, John Paul II, did in his life. Not only did he serve as the spiritual-leader of the 1 billion Catholics in the world, but he stood for right in the midst of the wrong. He stood up to the communist regime in his native-Poland. He advocated change and remained resolute in moral and social issues such as capital punishment, abortion, stem-cell research, communism and socialism. After being shot in the 1980s, he unequivocally-forgave his would-be assassin. This was a man to be respected, to be loved and to be idolized; yet, through it all, he remained a humble servant of God. And, on his death-bed, he served as an example to the whole world on the proper-way to die, in the shadow of the Terry Schiavo controversy. Would you accuse this man of being a conniving, murderous, abusive, rapist?
So, where does this leave us? Well, as Catholics, we are called to pray for the world, to pray for our families, and to pray for the shepherds of our flock. Even more so than that, we can support them with our evangelization and defend them with our actions and words. Don't let the media imbue our spiritual-fathers with this evil image. Don't let comedians make jokes at their expense. And don't let society cast these men out into the desert because of the sins of other men. I am in no way advocating or defending the priests or clergy who have done horrible things; rather, I am standing up for the ones who have come to the aid of the sick...the ones who have offered kind words to those in need of them...the ones who have delivered the sacraments to us at a moment's notice...the ones who have donated their time, their talents and (sometimes) their treasures all so that they can please God and serve us. This is the image of the priest that should be seen on TV. And, with our help and with our prayers, maybe, someday, it will be.
I've been on a movie-thon the past few days, watching The Godfather trilogy. So, I'm watching the 3rd movie now and there's a beautiful scene involving Don Corleone (the "Godfather," so to speak) and a priest.
Overcome with grief for his countless sins (including one that he feels is unforgivable), he finds himself conversing with a cardinal. In the middle of the conversation, the Cardinal asks the Don if he would like to confess his sins, to which he obliges and does so. Through tears and sobs, he lays it all out for the Cardinal. The Cardinal then says, "Michael, your life can be redeemed...but I know you don't believe that, because you will not change, will you?" He then absolves him of his sins, and sends him on his way.
Why does this strike me so? Well, it's because I find the priests honesty to be beautiful. He doesn't speak in an accusatory-tone, nor does he pass judgment on the penitent; rather, he speaks his mind and tries to encourage Michael to redeem himself. This is just an example of the way 99% of the clergy in our Church are. They are loving, caring, compassionate, holy-men whose only goal in life is to faithfully-serve God, their Church, and their community. Yet, turn on the TV, flip on a movie, or listen to the radio and you'll find none of this; however, you will undoubtedly come in contact with disparaging, hateful, mocking-remarks made by people who aim to destroy the Catholic Church.
Sadly, there are priests who are exactly what these "pundits" say they are. But they are in the vast minority. Just like any group of people in this world, gathered for whatever reason: 99% of them will be good, 1% will be bad. I am not a scientist, nor do I have the research or statistics to prove my claim. I am just a Roman Catholic teenager who has been served by or come in contact with a hundred priests in his lifetime and have found them all to be nothing but wonderful men of God.
Think of the great things our former-pope, John Paul II, did in his life. Not only did he serve as the spiritual-leader of the 1 billion Catholics in the world, but he stood for right in the midst of the wrong. He stood up to the communist regime in his native-Poland. He advocated change and remained resolute in moral and social issues such as capital punishment, abortion, stem-cell research, communism and socialism. After being shot in the 1980s, he unequivocally-forgave his would-be assassin. This was a man to be respected, to be loved and to be idolized; yet, through it all, he remained a humble servant of God. And, on his death-bed, he served as an example to the whole world on the proper-way to die, in the shadow of the Terry Schiavo controversy. Would you accuse this man of being a conniving, murderous, abusive, rapist?
So, where does this leave us? Well, as Catholics, we are called to pray for the world, to pray for our families, and to pray for the shepherds of our flock. Even more so than that, we can support them with our evangelization and defend them with our actions and words. Don't let the media imbue our spiritual-fathers with this evil image. Don't let comedians make jokes at their expense. And don't let society cast these men out into the desert because of the sins of other men. I am in no way advocating or defending the priests or clergy who have done horrible things; rather, I am standing up for the ones who have come to the aid of the sick...the ones who have offered kind words to those in need of them...the ones who have delivered the sacraments to us at a moment's notice...the ones who have donated their time, their talents and (sometimes) their treasures all so that they can please God and serve us. This is the image of the priest that should be seen on TV. And, with our help and with our prayers, maybe, someday, it will be.
posted by Kujo @ 4:56 PM
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