Should I keep my appointment with the parish Priest

[kristina40]

My father, who had fallen away from the Church, died recently. I called my parish priest to set up an appointment with him to discuss some issues I have been having. I briefly told him that my father had died, and that I had some issues regarding it that I needed help with. I thought later I should have been more detailed with him, I don’t want him to think its another one of those “do you think he will make it to heaven” meetings. None of the rest of my family has “stayed” Catholic, although my mom converted before they married and all of my siblings and I were baptized in the Catholic Church. Therefore, we did not have a Catholic funeral, so this has really bothered me. My Dad was very emphatic that he was a Catholic - although he was not a practicing Catholic. The priest did visit the morning my father died. My issue is that there are various obstacles standing in my way from becoming a full practicing Catholic. (I attend Mass - but am not able to receive the Eurcharist - nor can I participate in confession). These obstacles are not all of my making, and I can’t make the other people involved change for my benefit.

Anyway, I will finally get to my question. At Mass on Sunday, our priest, during his Homily, stated that he was having a conversation with another priest at a recent convention regarding some waning of his own spirituality. My question is do I keep my appointment with my priest about my spiritual struggle - if he is having struggles of his own? I wondered if he brought that up, in his Homily, to make him more approachable, because even he struggles, or am I complicating his life with my problems?

 

[baltobetsy]

Absolutely keep your appointment. It’s his job to assist you, no matter what his own struggles are.

Not having heard the homily, I can’t speculate on why he mentioned his own difficulties, but you may be doing him a favor by giving him the opportunity to help you. It is often in helping others that we find resolution of our own problems.

Say a prayer for him and go to your appointment.

Betsy

 

[wcknight]

Sorry for the loss of your fatehr, may he rest in peace, and eternal light shine upon him. If he had the blessing to have seen a priest on the day he died, he may very well be in Heaven, especially if he had the chance to be awake and was able to make a good confession.

By all means keep your appointment with your priest. He may have experessed some doubts or crisis in faith but he still knows much more about the faith and is still a good spiritual advisor. He may very well help you reconcile yourself with the Church.

I would recommend reading some books in addition to seeing your priest. One that I’m currently reading is excellent. It is said that St. Teresa of Lisieux was inspired by this book to go on to become the great saint that she is.

THE END OF THE PRESENT WORLD AND THE MYSTERIES OF THE FUTURE LIFE by Fr. Charles Arminjon

Also any of the books on the lives of the saints would be helpful. My favorites include biographies of St. Padre Pio, St Anthony of Padua, Sister Faustina.

 

[Sr_Sally]

Yes, you should keep your appointment. Despite his own struggles, whatever they are, he will probably still be able to help you. Also, he may have resolved his issues through his conversation, and anyway, his issues may be in a totally different area than yours.

Hopefully, the impediments to you coming into full union with the Church will be things that can be speedily resolved! I’m very glad to hear that you are still continuing with Mass and will pray for you.

 

[Epistemes]

May your father rest in peace.

And yes, keep your appointment. I’m sure the priest’s struggles are much different from your own and shouldn’t meddle with his ability to assist you through this difficult time. In fact, hearing from you may ultimately help him work out his own difficulties. You never know.