Priests and Home

Watching my priest, I’ve realized more than ever how much they do for us. I read an online article once about priests, and in the comments section somebody mentioned how much leisure time they have. I couldn’t help but think, “Don’t you know there’s a priest shortage? And do you know what your priest does all day?”

Of course, I don’t know what my priest does all day. But I know enough to make my head spin. In general, he gets up around 5:30 a.m. to spend that first hour in prayer. From there, I won’t even go into all he does. What I can say is that for him to finish his day around 9 p.m. is not uncommon.

He’s the busiest man I know, yet he always, always has time for those in need.

I tend to joke that it’s good that he’s not married. The only time he’d see his family would be if they used the confessional.

Of course, that brings up other things our priests give for us. No wife, no children. Friendships can be difficult. I know a priest who said that he can’t be seen with females or people think he’s having an affair. He can’t be seen with males (at least, not just one male) or people think he’s having an affair. In order not to cause scandal, if he’s seen in public with others it’s with couples, families, or other priests.

Of course, there’s much more I can say about the sacrificial love of a priest. Instead, I’ll tell you the piece I never thought about until we lost our priest.

Our priests regularly give up their homes.

My priest has been with us for 14 years. He has a home, both in his apartment and in his parish family. His love for us is abundantly clear, as a congregation and as individuals. With a congregation of about 2200, he knows each of us individually as much as we will allow it, and he cares for us all.

Now he is in a new church. As difficult as it was for us to say good-bye to him, he had to say good-bye to all of us, go to meet a parish full of new people, and leave his heart vulnerable to loving again and saying good-bye again.

As I’ve watched him over the years, I’ve realized more and more how his whole life revolves around us and doing whatever he can to bring us closer to God. He is a servant in every sense of the word.

God grant that I may learn to serve God as my priest has.