Response to Prayer on a Sunday night
This seems to be the prayer, of a priest, a man with a calling, requiring a discipline of the mind and body, which in a sense is similar to the disciplines required of all dedicated Christians who want to respond fully to Christ’s call. Dedicated Christians are all susceptible to the loneliness created by resisting the temptations of the secular world. This is a constant struggle which we all battle with and which brings us to an awareness of our vulnerability.
It would seem from this article that a Sunday night is the time when all that a priest accepted as part of that which goes with his calling impacts upon him. Being on his own and left to his own devices makes him aware of his vulnerability and how simple it would be to slip away from his purpose. He is made aware of the difference that exists between his life’s path and that of other people, particularly his congregation.
He sees other people experiencing some of the things he has had to reject as part of his calling; he is forced to be in the world but not off it.
Hear is a man who was probably fully aware of what was involved should he take up the calling to the priesthood, but it may be at the age of 35 and on a Sunday night, a time when he is quite vulnerable. He comes to a realisation that he has got the rest of his life to live adhering to the disciplines of a priestly life. It is a hard task, particularly when many of mans natural instincts have to be denied, and in particular if he is to remain celibate, as seems to be the assumption in this particular case.
The priest is also beset by the realisation that a congregation, traditionally, will expect a lot from him. Congregations for one reason or another seem to assume that a priest is something more than a man, almost superhuman, with an abundance of energy and a limitless capacity for giving. Because he has a calling to a spiritual life, teaching and ministering to the needs of others, he is expected to be on call 24 hrs a day.
The priest makes a statement, ‘here I am Lord’ he has come before the Lord in prayer because he has no where else to go, he lays before Him his troubles and frustrations which he cannot solve himself. He asks the Lords help and once more he commits to his calling when he says ‘I repeat to you my yes’.
This situation experienced by a 35 year old, I would argue would have been similar to that which was the experience of such people as St Francis, St Columba, St Augustine and many other saints in the history of the church.
It is like trying to give up cigarettes. The thought of never ever having another cigarette is too much to accept, but to say each day I won’t have a cigarette today is much easier to envision.
There is much evidence in society today of priests who have fallen to the temptations of the secular world, and there has been much public outcry at the apparent hypocrisy within the church. It is also said that it is desirable for a priest to be single, and celibate but only if he has the temperament to keep to the disciplines required of his calling.
I would argue that it is surely better for a priest to have the support of a wife and family than to expose himself to the temptations and loneliness of such a difficult journey. In a real sense it could be said for a priest to force himself, or to be forced to be a single entity is not natural. He as a priest has to be the leader of a faith community but without being fully part of that community, a very difficult thing to do in this so called nuclear society where we are being pushed more and more into being self sufficient.
In summary this article emphasizes in general many of the stresses experienced by those who take up the call to a Christian way of living and how much more difficult those stresses are to bear if one is a priest and even more so if he is single and celibate.
Posts
