The Laments of a Dying Breed of Priest

[Chuy]

Earlier this week I had to set-up and serve a rather large Requiem Mass. A priest I admire was to be the celebrant and it was to take place at a “borrowed” church due to scheduling issues.

Because the pastor and his borrowed church have long exhibited dissent in the community, I made sure to take a long the things the celebrant would find important – a nice chalice and ciborium with veils and burse; sanctus bells; a nice lavabo set and incense with all its required paraphernalia, etc.

You should have heard the ignorant and bitter comments from the pastor – particularly about the bells as I was setting-up. You should have also seen what was (and was not) in the cupboards of his own sacristy. The more he ground away at me, the more I grinned and felt sorry for him. There were at least another half dozen priests there and most found his behavior to be unsettling.

The low point was when another priest mentioned that Pope Benedict XVI typically has bells rung during his Masses. I’ll never forget this response: “bless his little black heart.” I almost stopped what I was doing to thank this priest for his unintended witness. At times I have wondered if it was the right thing to do to distance myself from people like him when possible. His comments answered my question once and for all.

Priests like him are a dying breed and that seems to be more and more obvious every day…

 

[Timothysis]

Nothing surprising, really…unfortunately, sometimes priests can be the worst members of the Catholic Church.

 

[theoprofessor]

Nothing surprising, really…unfortunately, sometimes priests can be the worst members of the Catholic Church.

What a shame others are experiencing such priestly behavior. I am privileged to belong to a parish with priests who are, for the want of a better word-orthodox.

Let’s pray for more good priests.

 

[Chuy]

Nothing surprising, really…unfortunately, sometimes priests can be the worst members of the Catholic Church.

Yep. What was different this time is he had no power. So instead of just saying “no” to everything, he became bitter.

 

[Sarabande]

Yep. What was different this time is he had no power. So instead of just saying “no” to everything, he became bitter.

I’ve noticed the same thing with this “dying breed” as you call it. Over almost the last 10 years I’ve been seeing more priests being more “orthodox” and less like the one you described. Some of them have shook their heads at and have actually admonished the newer and younger priests who choose to wear their cassocks, chant, among other things which they consider “bad”. But, as you said, the difference is now they don’t have the power to forbid it, so now they just sound like old, bitter men. It’s a shame and I pity them. They need prayers.

 

[Chuy]

I’ve noticed the same thing with this “dying breed” as you call it. Over almost the last 10 years I’ve been seeing more priests being more “orthodox” and less like the one you described. Some of them have shook their heads at and have actually admonished the newer and younger priests who choose to wear their cassocks, chant, among other things which they consider “bad”. But, as you said, the difference is now they don’t have the power to forbid it, so now they just sound like old, bitter men. It’s a shame and I pity them. They need prayers.

This was a very important experience for me. The priests gathered in the sacristy when he made those comments ranged from 80+ to perhaps his own age, 55 or so. I don’t think anyone agreed with him. One (65ish) was outright cocky in response.

While pastor’s were lamentable , it did act as a good sanity check – not everyone was like him…

 

[Sarabande]

This was a very important experience for me. The priests gathered in the sacristy when he made those comments ranged from 80+ to perhaps his own age, 55 or so. I don’t think anyone agreed with him. One (65ish) was outright cocky in response.

While pastor’s were lamentable , it did act as a good sanity check – not everyone was like him…

That’s very good to hear. The priests in my parish (they range from 30s to about 60s - we have about 6 of them) are all pretty much orthodox. It seemed like as soon as the older ones knew they could go back to being “orthodox”, they quickly changed their practices and have been a role model for our younger priests. It’s a blessing to see for someone of my generation. I’m on the latter end of Generation “X”.

 

[Adonia]

This is terrible. Thank God our priest is a good and holy man. He shows so much respect to our Faith in all aspects. I could not in good consciene be a member of a parish of such a priest. Sounds like a letter needs to be written to his Bishop!

 

[PJM]

Earlier this week I had to set-up and serve a rather large Requiem Mass. A priest I admire was to be the celebrant and it was to take place at a “borrowed” church due to scheduling issues.

Because the pastor and his borrowed church have long exhibited dissent in the community, I made sure to take a long the things the celebrant would find important – a nice chalice and ciborium with veils and burse; sanctus bells; a nice lavabo set and incense with all its required paraphernalia, etc.

You should have heard the ignorant and bitter comments from the pastor – particularly about the bells as I was setting-up. You should have also seen what was (and was not) in the cupboards of his own sacristy. The more he ground away at me, the more I grinned and felt sorry for him. There were at least another half dozen priests there and most found his behavior to be unsettling.

The low point was when another priest mentioned that Pope Benedict XVI typically has bells rung during his Masses. I’ll never forget this response: “bless his little black heart.” I almost stopped what I was doing to thank this priest for his unintended witness. At times I have wondered if it was the right thing to do to distance myself from people like him when possible. His comments answered my question once and for all.

Priests like him are a dying breed and that seems to be more and more obvious every day…

Amen brother:thumbsup:
PJM m.c.

 

[stbruno]

Fr.Corapi said a very wise thing in one of his catechism lessons. He says the devil attacks the very center of the Catholic church with great vengeance…and that is her priests. Because without good and faithful priests there is no Eucharist. No priests, no Eucharist. All the more reasons we have to pray for our priests…our good and faithful and those who are wish washy as well…so that they can receive the tribute of heaven one day and bring many souls along with them.

In one saint biography book that I read very recently, Padre Pio described how he was tortured by the devil very regularly…and he also had the gift of being visited by those who had died. On one occasion, Padre was in the choir loft of a locked church, when he noticed a monk hovering at the altar. Padre called down to him asking him what he was doing and who was he. He mentioned his name…and said that he was a priest in Purgatory and would Padre pray for him. He said, he was there because at times he did not treat the Eucharist and the mass with the reverence that it truly deserved, and he needed to do his penance for those times in Purgatory. So for all those priest who struggle to deliver the best liturgy they can because of their lack of reverence, this to me is a wakeup call…and to us as well. The Liturgy of the Mass and the HolyEucharist are the foretaste of heaven on earth, so treat it in the manner of which it certainly deserves. Our eternal lives depend on it, and God so richly deserves our proper worship and adoration. So pray for this priest even if your paths never cross again, and pray for the other priests so that they will defend the faith. God bless our priests!

 

[FrDavid96]

Earlier this week I had to set-up and serve a rather large Requiem Mass. A priest I admire was to be the celebrant and it was to take place at a “borrowed” church due to scheduling issues.

Because the pastor and his borrowed church have long exhibited dissent in the community, I made sure to take a long the things the celebrant would find important – a nice chalice and ciborium with veils and burse; sanctus bells; a nice lavabo set and incense with all its required paraphernalia, etc.

You should have heard the ignorant and bitter comments from the pastor – particularly about the bells as I was setting-up. You should have also seen what was (and was not) in the cupboards of his own sacristy. The more he ground away at me, the more I grinned and felt sorry for him. There were at least another half dozen priests there and most found his behavior to be unsettling.

The low point was when another priest mentioned that Pope Benedict XVI typically has bells rung during his Masses. I’ll never forget this response: “bless his little black heart.” I almost stopped what I was doing to thank this priest for his unintended witness. At times I have wondered if it was the right thing to do to distance myself from people like him when possible. His comments answered my question once and for all.

Priests like him are a dying breed and that seems to be more and more obvious every day…

Take hope. We have (for the most part) and excellent generation of seminarians and newly-ordained priests.

Priests like him are not merely a “dying breed” they are a self-destructive breed, and they are quite successful at it.

 

[Nickkname]

Fr.Corapi said a very wise thing in one of his catechism lessons. He says the devil attacks the very center of the Catholic church with great vengeance…and that is her priests. Because without good and faithful priests there is no Eucharist. No priests, no Eucharist. All the more reasons we have to pray for our priests…our good and faithful and those who are wish washy as well…so that they can receive the tribute of heaven one day and bring many souls along with them.

In one saint biography book that I read very recently, Padre Pio described how he was tortured by the devil very regularly…and he also had the gift of being visited by those who had died. On one occasion, Padre was in the choir loft of a locked church, when he noticed a monk hovering at the altar. Padre called down to him asking him what he was doing and who was he. He mentioned his name…and said that he was a priest in Purgatory and would Padre pray for him. He said, he was there because at times he did not treat the Eucharist and the mass with the reverence that it truly deserved, and he needed to do his penance for those times in Purgatory. So for all those priest who struggle to deliver the best liturgy they can because of their lack of reverence, this to me is a wakeup call…and to us as well. The Liturgy of the Mass and the HolyEucharist are the foretaste of heaven on earth, so treat it in the manner of which it certainly deserves. Our eternal lives depend on it, and God so richly deserves our proper worship and adoration. So pray for this priest even if your paths never cross again, and pray for the other priests so that they will defend the faith. God bless our priests!

Actually, the center of the Church is Jesus Christ in the Most Holy Eucharist. I don’t know where Fr. Corapi got the info about Priests being the center of the Church, and especially since he reads the Catechism of the Catholic Church…

As for your story, that’s not exactly how it went. Padre Pio said the Priest was cleaning the Altar and said he was in Purgatory because he had shown irreverence to the Holy Sacrament and not given it honor when he passed by. He asked Padre Pio to free him from Purgatory, and Padre Pio said he’d be freed the next morning when he celebrated Mass. The Priest cried “Cruel!”, wept bitterly, and vanished. Padre Pio than said he had the power to free the soul from Purgatory that very minute, and this happening was in his memory for the rest of his life.

I will be happy when the smoke of Satan - liturgical abuse - has been cleared out of the Church by the Breath of God. But this requires great prayer and penance on our part. Let us pray for Priests and consecrate them to Jesus through Mary!

 

[Chuy]

Fr.Corapi said a very wise thing in one of his catechism lessons. He says the devil attacks the very center of the Catholic church with great vengeance…and that is her priests. Because without good and faithful priests there is no Eucharist. No priests, no Eucharist. All the more reasons we have to pray for our priests…our good and faithful and those who are wish washy as well…so that they can receive the tribute of heaven one day and bring many souls along with them.

In one saint biography book that I read very recently, Padre Pio described how he was tortured by the devil very regularly…and he also had the gift of being visited by those who had died. On one occasion, Padre was in the choir loft of a locked church, when he noticed a monk hovering at the altar. Padre called down to him asking him what he was doing and who was he. He mentioned his name…and said that he was a priest in Purgatory and would Padre pray for him. He said, he was there because at times he did not treat the Eucharist and the mass with the reverence that it truly deserved, and he needed to do his penance for those times in Purgatory. So for all those priest who struggle to deliver the best liturgy they can because of their lack of reverence, this to me is a wakeup call…and to us as well. The Liturgy of the Mass and the HolyEucharist are the foretaste of heaven on earth, so treat it in the manner of which it certainly deserves. Our eternal lives depend on it, and God so richly deserves our proper worship and adoration. So pray for this priest even if your paths never cross again, and pray for the other priests so that they will defend the faith. God bless our priests!

So very true. His comment about Pope Benedict XVI momentarily shocked me – but I was so busy I couldn’t respond, probably a good thing.

It was clearly born out of frustration. He has spent much of his liturgical life as a priest banishing the very things we were setting-up for this important Mass. It had to be difficult for him and perhaps it gave a little taste of what things would be like once he’s no longer the pastor there.

Still, it bothers me to think of all the people he has ignored or ridiculed over the years when it came to the liturgy.

 

[Chuy]

Actually, the center of the Church is Jesus Christ in the Most Holy Eucharist. I don’t know where Fr. Corapi got the info about Priests being the center of the Church, and especially since he reads the Catechism of the Catholic Church…

As for your story, that’s not exactly how it went. Padre Pio said the Priest was cleaning the Altar and said he was in Purgatory because he had shown irreverence to the Holy Sacrament and not given it honor when he passed by. He asked Padre Pio to free him from Purgatory, and Padre Pio said he’d be freed the next morning when he celebrated Mass. The Priest cried “Cruel!”, wept bitterly, and vanished. Padre Pio than said he had the power to free the soul from Purgatory that very minute, and this happening was in his memory for the rest of his life.

I will be happy when the smoke of Satan - liturgical abuse - has been cleared out of the Church by the Breath of God. But this requires great prayer and penance on our part. Let us pray for Priests and consecrate them to Jesus through Mary!

Do you actually think the Church has ever been liturgically-abuse free – at least following several years after Pentecost?

 

[stbruno]

I guess I wrote the idea from Fr. Corapi incorrectly. Fr.Corapi indeed recognizes that the Holy Eucharist is the source and summit of our faith. But admittedly, we would not have the Holy Eucharist if we do not have priests to celebrate the mass where the Eucharist is consecrated. So the priesthood is truly required…no priests, no Eucharist. So we need to continually to pray for our priests.

 

[Chuy]

I guess I wrote the idea from Fr. Corapi incorrectly. Fr.Corapi indeed recognizes that the Holy Eucharist is the source and summit of our faith. But admittedly, we would not have the Holy Eucharist if we do not have priests to celebrate the mass where the Eucharist is consecrated. So the priesthood is truly required…no priests, no Eucharist. So we need to continually to pray for our priests.

Yeah, Fr. John has that mantra that goes (I think) “No priests no Eucharist, no Eucharist no power.”

 

[mdgspencer]

As a Catholic in the mid-1960s I saw all this craziness begin, including for example, a priest concelebrating mass with a Protestant minister the university chapel where I was. It was very upsetting, and I watched them in all their activites for many years, and it seemed hopeless. They took power in many places. I was very happy to hear of the new wave of younger orthodox priests a few years ago. When these dissenting priests took over they laughed at the older old orthodox foggies. But now they are the old foggies, and the wave of the past. I am not surprised many of them are bitter.
Similar things happened after the Council of Trent. For years there was chaos, but after several generations things went back on track and many things were glorious, including some great saints.