The impact of priests on a parish

[InLight247]

A prayer card says it well:

If the priest is a saint, his people will be holy.
If the priest is holy, his people will be good.
If the priest is good, his people will be fair.
If the priest is fair, his people will be mediocre.
If the priest is mediocre, his people will be bad.

Pray for your priest!

 

[Tigg]

In the EF the priest is required to not separate his fingers at any time after touching the consecrated Host (I assume that doing so above the chalice or other areas that would catch the particles is allowable) until after distributing Communion and then having his fingers washed over the chalice and then drinking.

This is done to ensure that no particles fall to the floor where they may be stepped on, etc. As we believe that each part is the whole when it comes to the Eucharist, then even one particle is the whole of Christ.

For whatever reason, it is not a requirement in the OF, probably because most people receive on their hands. However, in the EF it is done like this and as an extension the laity don’t touch the Host with their hands.

**Having a priest do the same in an OF Mass IMO draws more attention to the reverence of the Real Presence and that even a little particle is the same as a the whole. I think that the average person doesn’t quite grasp that these days. **

Unfortunately, this is true, in fact the stats indicate that even 30% of practicing Catholics no longer believe in the Real Presence.

In either way, seeing in this church that most of the people were receiving on the tongue goes to show how much a priest can influence the laity. It was quite interesting to observe and can be applied in many other aspects besides just liturgy.

We got a new priest about three years ago and the focus of our parish life has changed from an emphasis on the vertical to the horizontal and community. Now some are very happy with this - I cry a lot over it! But because our previous pastor was very orthodox, when the new priest came in many of us noticed he seemed somewhat disconcerted at the number who received on the tongue, and I noticed (as anyone would who receives only on the tongue) the inexperience of just how the mechanics should work - you know - fingers in the mouth, etc. He’s gotten better with practice, but I feel in this case, the laity were a good influence on the clergy!

 

[sirach2v4]

I went to a Mass last night at a different church about 10 minutes away. I had actually never been there, never thought to actually go. Anyway, I went for Confession and ended up staying for Mass (although I originally wasn’t planning on it). The thing that really amazed me was the priest. This was an OF Mass, but the priest was really great in everything.

Since it was the vigil for Corpus Christi he of course talked about the Eucharist. It was refreshing to actually hear a priest talk about the Eucharist in the way he did, talking about the Real Presence, that we should confess our sins, the importance of the Eucharist in our faith, the fact that belief in the Real Presence is essential to our faith and that the consecration before us is a miracle, things I don’t hear all too often.

Then came the Liturgy of the Eucharist. He used prayers that I feel like other priests must skip over, very beautiful stuff. He did the consecration exactly like it would be in the EF Mass, didn’t show the host around the room or anything, very reverently did it. The bell then sounded for a good 5 seconds and after he never separated his fingers (something I’ve never seen in an OF Mass!)

I noticed all throughout he was very careful not to let any particles touch the ground, very reverent in everything. You could see the faith and belief in this priest! He didn’t look like someone just going through the motions.

Then when he started to give Communion the alter servers all received on the tongue and then the people in the parish about 75% (from my glances around) received on the tongue (was probably about 100 people there). It was amazing to see the impact of such a priest. It goes to show that reverence and how the people approach Mass come first from the clergy. I was truly thankful to God for such a man to be representing Christ .

I attended a Mass in a church in Chicago which is staffed by priests from some religious order.

This one priest paused at the moment when the rubrics call for dividing the host in half – the literal “breaking of the bread.” He took what seemed like a minute and a half to do this, as if to highlight non-verbally the biblical phrase “they recognized him in the breaking of bread.”

It was very intense for me to meditate at this point which priests usually pass through very quickly and mechanically.

 

[Joy2day]

What is EF and OF ?? Having asked this , I think it is very important to see and know that your parish priest shows reverence especially during Mass because people do notice these things and respond in like manner.

 

[april32010]

We were spoiled for a while with an incredible priest. He was incredibly gripping and very funny, yet very conservative in his beliefs and very serious about Mass.

1 He had no problem, for instance, telling people before Mass to stay in their seats if they missed Mass the week before and didn’t get to Confession​

1. 
   *]how he would know they didn’t go to confession somewhere else ? and he’s not allowed to ask i believe
   *] this is a cult of pesonality ,this isn’t anything i would brag about !

 

[maryjk]

1. 
   *]how he would know they didn’t go to confession somewhere else ? and he’s not allowed to ask i believe
   *] this is a cult of pesonality ,this isn’t anything i would brag about !

1. 
   1)I guess I would rarely be able to get out of my seat. Since I rarely go to my pastor for Confession.
   
   2)I actually like the fact that they move priests around. Yes, I miss the ones they move, but at least the parish doesn’t equate Church/Mass with a particular priest.

 

[johnthebaptist1]

I also want to say,that ,I can tell if a priest is truely a man of God,because it will touch my Heart,and theirs priest,that only talk,and I have no feeling.

 

[quiet52]

We can’t pray enough for our priests.

Yes, they need our prayers.

In fact, the universal Church is asked to pray especially for our priests as we observe the solemn feast day of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus (Friday, June 7th).

Since 2002, this feast day is also been the "World Day of Prayer for the Sanctification of Priests."

EWTN will be broadcasting live the Rosary Relay for Priests on First Friday, June 7th, 2013 at 9:30 A.M. EST. (see ewtn.com/vnews/getstory.asp?number=125465)

**LORD JESUS CHRIST, eternal High Priest, you offered yourself to the Father on the altar of the Cross and through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit gave your priestly people a share in your redeeming sacrifice. Hear our prayer for the sanctification of our priests. Grant that all who are ordained to the ministerial priesthood may be ever more conformed to you, the divine Master. May they preach the Gospel with pure heart and clear conscience. Let them be shepherds according to your own Heart, single- minded in service to you and to the Church and shining examples of a holy,simple and joyful life. Through the prayers of the Blessed Virgin Mary, your Mother and ours,draw all priests and the flocks entrusted to their care to the fullness of eternal life where you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. AMEN

BENEDICTUS PP. XVI
His Holiness Benedict XVI’s Prayer for Priests**

 

[QuestingKnight]

1 He had no problem, for instance, telling people before Mass to stay in their seats if they missed Mass the week before and didn’t get to Confession​

1. 
   *]how he would know they didn’t go to confession somewhere else ? and he’s not allowed to ask i believe
   *] this is a cult of pesonality ,this isn’t anything i would brag about !

1. 
   #1 I think he was saying that if they knew that they had missed Mass, then not to receive before going to Confession. The priest was not keeping tabs. But, then again, if he did, that would be good. Can you imagine: a priest refusing Communion to a known, unrepentant sinner. Could happen some day! Sarcasm] People might take Communion more seriously, then.
   
   #2 I’ve read that moving priests around is a good way to keep them powerless; they can’t settle into a parish. Power has moved to bishops. I suppose it’s a good system if you lose a bad pirest and get a good one instead and it ain’t if if goes the other way!
   But it’s a wrench, surely, for both priest and laity if he’s doing well (as we hope most priests are) and then he has to pack his bags. And he has to learn the ropes all over again at a new parish.
   
   Do parish priests tend to stay put? Is that a ‘job for life’, sort of? Do you ‘graduate’ when you become one?

 

[maryjk]

#1 I think he was saying that if they knew that they had missed Mass, then not to receive before going to Confession. The priest was not keeping tabs. But, then again, if he did, that would be good. Can you imagine: a priest refusing Communion to a known, unrepentant sinner. Could happen some day! Sarcasm] People might take Communion more seriously, then.

The problem I have with that, is the priest should have no idea who is an unrepentant sinner. He should have no idea who went to Confession nor what they said.