Year for Priests: priests reflecting on priesthood

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As part of the Year for Priests, Catholic News Service is running a series of reflections on priesthood written by - priests.

The following comes from Fr. Ken Doyle, a priest of the diocese of Albany, N.Y. who has served as pastor of a large suburban parish for the last 17 years. He is also chancellor of the diocese for public information. Ordained in 1966, he has also been a high school religion teacher, editor of a diocesan newspaper, bureau chief in Rome for Catholic News Service, lawyer/lobbyist for the New York State Catholic Conference and director of media relations for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

On June 19, at a vespers service in St. Peter’s Basilica, Pope Benedict XVI formally opened what he has proclaimed as the Year for Priests.

The purpose of the year, the pope has noted, is to encourage among priests a deeper prayer life and a renewed effort toward the “spiritual perfection” on which, says the pope, “the effectiveness of their ministry primarily depends.”

Let me say something about how the priesthood rolls out on the ground level and then make a modest suggestion.

The pope has timed the year to coincide with the 150th anniversary of the death of St. John Vianney, who is the patron saint of parish priests. But the life of the Curé of Ars, who spent several hours each day in the confessional in a rural town in France, bears little resemblance to the (mythical) “average day” of the priest in America right now.

Yesterday (as I write) was a Thursday, which is theoretically my “day off.” (A wonderful hospital chaplain generously takes the parish Mass on Thursday morning, so that the pastor can “get away,” which lately rarely happens.) This, in fact, was how yesterday went. It started at 8 a.m. at a board meeting of our local Catholic hospital, where the discussion is always spirited (and often lengthy). The hospital is building a quarter-billon-dollar addition, so there are financial issues surrounding that. It is also in the process of merging with a secular hospital, so there are ethical dimensions to address.

Finishing the meeting at 10, I drove to our parish office to draft a report on parish consolidation. The five Catholic parishes in our area this year are merging into three because of population shifts and the scarcity of priests. Lots of questions are on the table — new staffing patterns, revised Mass schedules, shared religious ed. programs, sale of vacated properties — and we have the next few months to figure it all out.

As I was writing that report, I was at the same time fielding phone calls: final arrangements for weddings... and baptisms... and the ever-present calls from people with certain needs... The challenge is to remember that “God is in the interruptions” and that a priest, like Christ, must always be kind.
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What I am saying is that a monastic spirituality, with a large dose of quiet built in, just doesn’t work for today’s parish priest. Instead, how about this as a practical alternative: 10 minutes a day, early in the morning before the craziness begins, 10 minutes to talk things over with God, to measure progress on our journey to heaven. Let’s do it just for a year — the Year for Priests. It could even become a habit.

(Read the complete reflection here)

There is much to be learned from the life of St. John Vianney but Fr. Doyle raises a good point here. While much is the same in the life of priests in every generation, much is also different and the changes from century to century, from culture to culture make different demands on those ordained for this ministry.

There's no doubt that the fidelity and perseverance of the Curé d'Ars provide a model for priests in every generation. Indeed, spiritual exercises from the past, even from the ancients, continue to be a rich source for the spirituality of priests and people alike in our own time. But the Church needs to ask, priests need to ask, God's people need to ask: how do the fidelity and perseverance of St. John Vianney play out and integrate with the life of priests in city parishes? in urban parishes? in third world parishes? in the life of priests who are pastor to multiple parishes?

Historically, the Church has often offered monastic models of spirituality for those who do not live monastic lives. One need only look at some seminaries' community prayer schedule or to the Liturgy of the Hours itself for examples of this. The spirituality of monastic communities (and their prayer forms) may not provide the best spiritual formation or exercises for priests who will more than likely live alone. Perhaps the Year for Priests will help surface a spirituality better adapted to the ministry of today's priests.

As a priest who more often than not takes work home on his days off, I understand what Fr. Doyle is saying. Some might say his "modest proposal" is minimalistic but as one who lives this life I know that it is realistic and a good place to begin, again. I'm grateful for this brother's proposal and hope it will become for many of us, a very good habit.

-ConcordPastor