Fostering Priestly Vocations
Catherine Doherty (foundress of the Madonna House Apostolate) once said that ‘priests are God’s love letters.’ This is certainly true of the priests that helped to form my own vocation to the priesthood. Priests like Fr. Bob Bedard, Fr. Jim Duffy, and Msgr. Colin Campbell, who expressed different aspects of the mystery of Holy Orders to me. These were humble priests of prayer, priests who showed untiring patience in the face of ignorance, the Lord’s mercy and encouragement in the confessional, and the mind of the Church in matters of faith. These priests were also not afraid to show their vulnerable side.
Parents play one of the greatest roles in fostering the initial steps towards the priesthood. Since children are great observers and imitators, they tend to mirror what they see their parents believing and practising. Pope John Paul II referred to the home as the first school of our faith in the fostering of future priests. Fr. Robert Wilde wrote the following in a book he wrote 25 years ago:
“The Church as a whole has a special concern and regard for her priests. We are called to pray for them, and try to understand in them, both the human side (which tends to be weak like Simon), and the side that best reflects Jesus (which is like the strength of St. Peter). Catherine Doherty always said that a priest does not fully understand who he really is, unless the laity calls forth his priesthood. This presupposes that the laity already know who a priest is: someone who has been given power over the mystery of the Body and Blood of Christ.
Not long before the Communist Revolution in Russia, Catherine was once taught a powerful lesson by her mother, about ‘who’ a priest was.
As a youngster, she was walking down a street with her mother, when they saw a priest, drunk, and lying in the gutter. Catherine was shattered by this spectacle, having been raised to reverence a priest. They picked him up and helped him back to the rectory.
When they arrived home, her mother didn’t say a word about what happened, but told Catherine to fetch her baby brother’s potty from under the bed. She told her to wash it out well and place it on the table. Then she told her to go into the garden and get a flower. Catherine did so. Her mother put the flower in the potty and asked Catherine what she saw. “A flower in a pot”, she replied. “Remember, Catherine, that a flower is always a flower regardless of the container it is in. And a priest is another Christ, regardless of his weak humanity. Never confuse the two”, and Catherine never did.
What is a Priest? by Catherine Doherty
A priest is a lover of God.
A priest is a (man in love with) humanity.
A priest is a holy man.
A priest understands all things.
A priest forgives all things.
A priest encompasses all things.
The heart of a priest is pierced, like Christ’s,
With the lance of love.
The heart of a priest is open, like Christ’s,
For the whole world to walk through.
The heart of a priest is a vessel of compassion.
The heart of a priest is a chalice of love.
The heart of a priest is the trysting place
Of human and divine love.
A priest is a man whose goal is to be another Christ;
A priest is a man who lives to serve.
A priest is a man who has crucified himself
So that he too may be lifted up
And draw all things to Christ.
A priest is a man in love with God.
A priest is the gift of God to man
And of man to God.
A priest is the symbol of the Word made flesh.
A priest is the naked sword of God’s justice.
A priest is the hand of God’s mercy.
A priest is the reflection of God’s love.
Nothing can be greater in the world than a priest,
Nothing but God Himself.
Fr. Martin