ipl-logo

Departure Reflection

1881 Words8 Pages

I heard an excellent homily last week, delivered by a young priest who spoke with passion and energy. It was clearly his own take on how the Gospel reading for this daily Mass spoke to him. He crafted it to offer lessons to us. It was beautiful, but that wasn’t what struck me. What moved me most this day was the very existence of this man and his vocation. I had a sudden and overwhelming sense of gratitude.

I’ll try to explain why.

There were only about ten of us in attendance. He crafted that homily for us. It required that he read ahead of time and think hard. He had clearly done some additional reading on the topic. He probably spent some time in prayer. Then he delivered it and could only hope that people would listen and learn from what …show more content…

He is called upon to understand—and fully explain and even solve—our troubles, issues, difficulties, struggles, failings, sins, and to comprehend and care about the endless details of our lives, to the precise extent to which we share them and call upon his intervention. In the confessional, he is (contrary to myth) not a judge but a dispenser of the grace of God’s forgiveness and comforting love.

Meanwhile, no one really ever asks us to understand his failings. Far from it: we imagine ourselves in the position of being his judge, never dispensing forgiveness but more commonly suspicion, detraction, and calumny. Catholics themselves are severe enough in this respect, but the rest of the world is ever more disapproving of the priesthood itself. His very existence is a provocation to debate every issue from the existence of God to the meaning of life. He is a lightening rod and yet must act nonchalant about this fact, going about his business as if to ignore the suspicions and doubts all around him.

A quick anecdote along these lines: I was in Rome a few months ago and met some high Church officials, and was pleased to take photographs with them. I posted them publicly and was happy and honored to do so. But of course I braced myself for the fallout from here and

Show More
Related

  • What Is The Rhetorical Appeal In Letter From Birmingham Jail

    1494 Words  | 6 Pages

    Martin Luther King Jr. wrote to his fellow clergymen and supporters as “A Call for Unity” as he sat in a jail cell in Birmingham, Alabama. King had been placed under arrest due to participating in a peaceful march against segregation on property that he did not have permission to be on. During this time, in the 1960’s, the Southern part of the United States was ruled under the Jim Crow Laws which enforced legal segregation throughout the region. By using techniques such as self-presentation, emotional appeal and rational appeal, King is able to defend his non-violent strategy and resistance to the oppression and racism by declaring that people have the moral responsibility to break unjust laws in a peaceful manner. Using the rhetorical appeal

    Read More

  • The Cross And The Lynching Tree Chapter Summary

    720 Words  | 3 Pages

    And if God is God, why is He letting us suffer?” (1) The lifelong quest for answers to these questions shaped his theology

    Read More

  • Nouwen's The Wounded Healer

    986 Words  | 4 Pages

    It has amazed me at times in my ministry that the most significant things are often the simple gestures of asking “how are you?” “What’s going on with you?” “What’s wrong?” and then genuinely offering myself to listen to the response. This is a day to day act of giving ourselves for others.

    Read More

  • Night The Word Sage By Elie Wiesel

    579 Words  | 3 Pages

    A “simple creature of flesh and bone”(76-77) is not seen as being capable of understanding god’s will. Unlike god a person’s views may be warped by emotion; someone may “suffer hell in [their] soul and [their] flesh.”(77) After the death of Akida Drummer the prisoners forget to pray for him as a direct result of their own suffering. Unlike a god they have been rendered unable to fulfill their promise to their friend because of their own emotional trauma. Sorrow and other emotional responses are described as a force capable of destroying one’s ability to reason. Furthermore humankind is not seen as having adequate trust in god’s will.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast The Aeneid And The Confessions

    1787 Words  | 8 Pages

    No matter the degree of sin each of us commits we are estranged from God to some capacity. It is common for the human person to fall prey to the approval of the world and forget or ignore God, who loves us despite the numerous times we reject Him. He even states how he remembers in his youth that he had wept for Dido for committing suicide because of love (The Confessions by St. Augustine, book 1), but he didn't weep for his own sins and transgressions for God. He could empathize with the tragic plight of a character in a book, but he didn't or couldn't recognize his own tragedy. I think it's all too common for a person to see the faults in someone else and feel sorrow for them, but at the same time, they are unable to acknowledge their own faults and get to the root of their sin.

    Read More

  • Essay About Moving To Columbus

    587 Words  | 3 Pages

    After we were done for the night, I couldn't wait to tell Lisa what had happened. I didn't know it was called being saved, I just knew that something amazing had happened. We spent the rest of my time at college house that night praying, thanking him for his glory, and for finding me when I needed him most. The rest of my night, I spent calling my family and friends and telling them the amazing news. From that moment on I have been fully devoted to my faith.

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of A Priest's Speech

    918 Words  | 4 Pages

    The priest orated stories to inform and mainly pursue not to belittle one another’s experience on this planet. This was taken place at University of the Pacific’s Morris Chapel, Sunday evening. Though I can safely say that the majority of the audience consisted of frequent Catholic followers, I noticed a number of students who are also in COMM 27. Overall the speech was very compelling and easy to follow.

    Read More

  • Essay On Anti Catholicism In America

    1244 Words  | 5 Pages

    Politicians get criticized for their “Catholic agenda” and the breaking story is diocese protecting pedophile, homosexual priests. This combined makes people think, why does everyone seem to target Catholicism and why are they allowed to get away with it. Especially in this time where everything has to be “politically correct”. The Anti-Catholic prejudice started in Europe with the Protestant Reformation,continued

    Read More

  • Comparing Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God And Upon The Burning Of Our House

    1000 Words  | 4 Pages

    Jonathan Edwards’s sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” and Anne Bradstreet’s “Upon the Burning of Our House” seem at first glance quite similar to one another regarding context, however, after taking a closer look, it becomes apparent that there are some substantial differences. These differences cannot be understood without the knowledge of cultural context concerning the Puritan belief system and their lifestyle. “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” was written with the sole purpose of scaring and intimidating the people that purtinans believed to be sinners. Edwards’s work contributed to a movement called “The Great Awakening”. It’s objective was to make the so-called ‘sinners’ aware of their wrongdoings and compel them to repent.

    Read More

  • Comparing Hawkins And Clinton Integration Approach To Psychology And Christian Psychology

    756 Words  | 4 Pages

    Clinton and Hawkins identifies psychological issues and spiritual issues through the same lens. Understanding how people act, and why they act the way they act is pivotal. Often, a person’s worldview explains these questions. In addition, they believe that all men are made in the image of God, however, they are separated by their sin nature. Interestingly, dealing with client’s psychological and spiritual issues stems for the innate from sin.

    Read More

  • Coach Spurlin's Influence On My Life

    710 Words  | 3 Pages

    He really showed me a lot of new perspectives in life and opened my eyes to everything I can

    Read More

  • Enlightenment And Kant's Essays: The Age Of Enlightenment

    956 Words  | 4 Pages

    He writes, “I don't need to rely on a love which understands for me, a pastor who has conscience for

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Redemption In The Kite Runner

    962 Words  | 4 Pages

    A healed sin becomes reconciling friendship, becoming a source for fuller healing that embraces all. One can only redeem their sin if their redemption is done by heart and is meaningful. People who do not experience forgiveness, guilt swallows them up and they feel as if they are drowning. As Richard Baxter said, “that sorrow, even for sin, may be overmuch. That overmuch sorrow swalloweth one up.”

    Read More

  • Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God Summary

    582 Words  | 3 Pages

    Sometimes it is easy to take the gift of salvation for granite, which is why we should review how and why it was given to us. The sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” was so effective because it showed people who they really are. The sermon opened people’s eyes to where they were spiritually, how powerful God truly is, and the things He can do but chooses not to. The sermon described how we are all born sinners and deserve to go to hell.

    Read More

  • History Of Homiletics

    843 Words  | 4 Pages

    An overview of Homiletics: Historical, Theological and Homiletic Development and Significance. Introduction: Preaching is the central acts of Christianity Preaching is a vehicle for promoting the changes in the churches as well as in society. Preaching also assumes that it is the fundamental aspects of the church. The church cannot function properly without the direction of it. .

    Read More

More about Departure Reflection

Open Document