The New Clericalism

"Do not be clerical!" That, or words similar, is what many young seminarians and priests often hear from our elder brothers and from many lay folks. But what does that exactly mean? It basically means that a priest should not act like a dictator and a member of a privileged class. Good words of advice. The priesthood is a call to a life of service to Jesus Christ and His people. Therefore the priest goes about his life in a prayerful manner of service and love, leading the people to knowledge of God by celebrating the sacraments with reverence and faithfully performing them in the manner in which the Church has commissioned him to do.

Here is where the new clericalism steps in. Many of my generation believe that the celebration of the Mass should adhere faithfully to the liturgical norms and not be fiddled with at all. I know as a lay man for many years that I would parish shop until I found a parish that was faithful to the Sacramentary and normal Catholic liturgical worship. Where there was obvious deviation (skipping the Gloria, excessive inclusive language, lay preaching, general absolution in place of confessions, changing the words of the Eucharistic Prayer, etc.) I would not return to that parish.

But we know many parishes and priests who do just these things. Why? Because they have the power to do so. They use their clerical office to implement changes in the Mass that are not appropriate and can lead to illicit and sometimes invalid sacraments. They have become the pope of that parish. It is what I call The New Clericalism. It is by the very power that these priests (and laity) allegedly reject that gives them the power to make any change that they believe is needed in order to make life in their parish more tolerable to the unsophisticated or ignorant faithful.

Fair warning: try accusing them of clericalism and you might be in for a real battle. But I stand by the description. It is clericalism to use your power to make changes where there is no authority to do such things.

The faithful deserve and have a right to properly celebrated sacraments. Denying them this right is an ugly sin.

Life is Busy!

Writing a wedding homily (my first!). Finishing up classes and writing the final test. Making summer plans. Celebrating Holy Mass every day. Baseball practice and games. Writing thank you notes. Praying, praying and praying! Planning the trip to Rome and Sicily (leaving in less than 2 weeks!).

What a blessed life it is being a priest!

Mass of Thanksgiving

This is my favorite photo from my Mass of Thanksgiving at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Excelsior, Minnesota last Sunday. What a blessed day!

The Task of Preaching

I am breaking with a tradition of having a guest preacher at my Mass of Thanksgiving in Minnesota. The reason being is that I do not live there and so many of my family and friends will rarely get to hear me preach. I finished a first draft of my homily last night and I will edit it just a little more, but I plan on keeping the content and message just as it is. I went away from the idea that I would give my vocation talk or an inspiring message that might encourage many to seek the Dominican way of life. I instead went off on the task of preaching Jesus Christ and the truth of His message as well as the fact that preaching/teaching the truth of Catholic morality and doctrine are of utmost importance in this day and age. This is not a vocation for the cowardly, and as so many bloggers have noted of late, truth will most likely lead to persecution. I pray that I am ready for this task.

A Favorite Photo

You can't get better than a photo of Fr. Benedict Ashley, O.P. laying hands on you!

Ordination Photos

Go here for many photos of the ordination. More on this great weekend when I have time to write. I am busy teaching again and then it is off to Minnesota for my Mass of Thanksgiving.

Getting the oils!

What a blessed day this was!