Well-said, and true. The only thing missing is mention of the utter failure of today's bishops to live as authentic shepherds, willing to fight and die for their flocks. Some of today's somnolent priests might be roused (like the Ents, perhaps?) if their bishops had even an iota of courage and manliness.
There's some truth to this, inasmuch as the sacramental character of the priesthood gives the priest access to and a claim on every grace he needs for heroic sanctity. But as with the graces of baptism, these often lie untapped, unused, unappreciated.
Evidence for what you're saying is that whenever a diocese HAS a good bishop, suddenly there are seminarians again (amazing!! - /s).
Very good analysis. Priestly vocations, like military recruitment, are often affected by parental influence. There is no way I would support any of my sons pursuing diocesan priesthood if I thought they had a vocation. They would be entering an environment either hostile or indifferent to tradition and managed by mostly lavender bishops. One might reasonably wonder if God, displeased by the effeminate mainstream Church, is permitting the rite of Paul VI to die a slow death by starving it of good priests.
I think most parents who let their sons go into diocesan seminaries do not realize how bad things are. One may assume that is why they do not protest and recommend that they enter the FSSP, ICKSP, IBP, Clear Creek, etc.
Admittedly, I know many fine young men who want to be solid, manly priests and yet precisely want to serve in a particular diocese. The trouble is, they are setting themselves up for being sideswiped and undermined. Just look at the young presbyterate in Charlotte: all of them learning the TLM and loving it, and now Bishop Martin...
There will not be any safety in the dioceses until the TLM is restored.
This piece is a splendid analysis of why the way forward is to lift up once again the peculiar martyrdom, bravery, and adventure which rightly belong to the priestly role. The piece also reminds me of a little discovery I made while beginning to read an assigned text for a recent online course through the Institute of Catholic Culture with the wonderful Anthony Esolen. In the Cistercian text, The Quest for the Holy Grail--an enchanting read--I noticed how routinely the knights are at Mass, sometimes in armor, sometimes not. But it is the celebrant of Mass (the knights are forever wandering into lonely chapels and tucked-away monasteries) who at one point is said to have "removed the armor of God" after concluding his service. It may have been a passing reference, but how it struck me: priestly vestments as armor! Knights at Mass, and priests as knights! That one instance impressed on my mind the fittingness of this imagery and pairing, since Calvary is the conquest of sin, death, and the devil. The Vetus Ordo continually rivets my attention to the terrible beauty of Christ's sacrifice, of Christ Himself, who is the Truth anticipated in all the mystery and magic of the hero myths.
In fact, the traditional vesting prayers for priests have a certain chivalrous language to them. The amice prayer in particular: "Lord, set the helmet of salvation on my head to fend off all the assaults of the devil."
I, too, participated in Anthony Esolen’s ICC class on The Quest of the Holy Grail and was entranced. Thanks for pointing out that connection. We all need to be on the quest for perfect holiness through faith in our Savior!
There is also the matter of bishops removing priests from active ministry for no apparent reason other than that priest is orthodox. This is an immeasurable scandal on two fronts - one, because it literally is a net -1 to the active priest total; two, because it then serves as a deterrent for a discerning man would shies from his vocation because he expects to be sidelined anyway. This scandal is also just so great because of how mad it is, the secrecy, the "clericalism" that Pope Francis supposedly decried while overseeing it in its most bullyish form, how much of an attack on the faithful who are then deprived of a confessor, liturgical availability, etc.
I couldn't agree more. Many's the time I've heard of a priest canceled for a fiery pro-life sermon, or making comments against abortion, contraception, or sodomy.
I was reading this article to my son who is discerning the priesthood.
“Most importantly, we need to stop trying to make the priesthood appeal to everyone and start making it appeal to the right men. The men who don’t want a job — they want a mission. The men who don’t want comfort — they want conquest. The men who don’t want to fit in — they want to stand out for something that matters.”
The priest sees something you don't. I have watched my FSSP priests pray and this is very evident. They are in touch with the Divine in ways we are not. By their very posture they draw us into their prayer and give us a share in their grace.
Fr. Robert McTeigue, S.J. on iCatholic Radio has always described the priests you refer to as Father Cheerful at St. Typical parish. This is such a wonderful essay. I need to drum up the nerve to copy and mail to a few Fr. Cheerfuls at many St. Typicals.
Fine article, thank you. I am awed at the courage of our priests here who serve our Novus Ordo aging population with fervour. The FSSP show us the results of their excellent training, and inspire us with their seminarians when they visit. The fruits of their labour shows in Masses full of young families, engaged in the sacramental program that is lacking elsewhere.
Yes, I suppose one downside of this article is that it speaks in black and white terms about the current situation. But there are exceptions even in the "mainstream Catholic world." This is mainly due, I would say, to Benedict XVI and the Summorum Pontificum "knock-on effect."
I tried hard to listen to the entire presentation from beginning to end - soberly and thoughtfully - but I couldn't make it through much more than a third of the way
...before standing up to pound my fist on the desk and cheer! YYYESSS! More than a couple of times by the end of the entire narration!
The Militant Church takes up a great deal of my time and energy reflecting and writing, and the allegory of the fighting man - usually fighting fire and responding to medical emergencies and natural disasters - is always easy for me to run with. "Write what you know," as they say. Most of my social media reflections , not to mention the articles I've published, make extensive use of this image.
The PRIEST as the fighting man, though, is so very, very important! And, in his case, it is not an allegory!
A great article, that I've passed along to a colleague whose son - who is also a Latin student of mine - is one of a group of young men who is thinking of the priesthood.
This is the best article I've read on the desacralization of the Catholic priesthood since Fr. James McLucas's "The Emasculation of the Priesthood," originally published in The Latin Mass magazine (Spring 1998) and reproduced at OnePeterFive (1/16/15):
I agree with all that you have said but the clergy have lost moral authority and for so many people it's just too difficult to see past the scandals and cover ups. The beauty and mystery have sadly been sullied.
No doubt this is true. The challenge is to preserve what is mystically and eternally true of the priesthood (because of Christ the High Priest) in spite of the abuses of earthly images.
We had a homily on this last week. Our Diocese will ordain 3 Priests this year then it will have to wait another 7 years for just one. Truly they are becoming an endangered species.
Some of the points in this I agree with and others I don’t. Celibacy is appropriate for some and not for others. It should not be mandatory and this is not because of sex but actually because it would be better for a man, as St Paul actually suggested they should after Corinthians to have proven themselves running their own household before they are entrusted with stewarding Gods. As I said not always, but these things should be dealt with and discerned on a case by case basis with our minds not on the material but on what God is doing and what His plans are. This is important because one of the issues we are facing is the assault on the nuclear family and the Clergy have failed to defend it mostly because they lack any practical experience of its central importance of it as a blueprint from God how we are to live our lives and their experience is often in the broken homes produced by the 60s/70s and the sexual revolution but no experience of the graft of building their own functioning one centred on God. God often teaches us things by our horizontal relationships, especially how He is feeling. Witness the experience of Hosea for example so mandatory celibacy has to go as it is damaging the Gospel mission. God Himself said in Genesis said “It is not good that man be alone” and we are not to call that which God deems bad good nor that which God deems good bad.
Having said that you make some good points. Worrying about budgets as opposed to saving souls etc is a massive turn off. Elsewhere you said that the Priesthood essentially feels spiritually unsafe and that is correct. Men cannot serve two masters (btw in a marriage they are master of the house so no, this does not apply). Were I a Priest I would defy my Bishop and the Church rather than commit the blasphemy of blessing a same sex couple in any way. I would defy Rome itself rather than risk the wrath of Heaven and I would never betray my God because the Church demanded it. I would also prefer the Latin Mass and do my best to teach my congregation Latin, no matter what Rome said, just as I am learning it through choice. The deviation on these things does make the Priesthood feel spiritually unsafe.
However, the real question as always is we need to ask why God has stopped calling people to the Priesthood. It is like falling birth rates which are Gods Judgement on our disregard for the sanctity of life principally (and marriage). God will not bless us with new life when we as a Western society treat life with contempt. God will not bless the Church with new Priests while it keeps especially Fiducia Supplicans in place in open rebellion against Him.
Thanks for this comment. I can agree with most of what you are saying here. I don't believe God has stopped calling men to the priesthood (or religious life, for that matter); only that modern ears are stuffed full of wax and we don't hear his voice or respond to it.
On the question of celibacy, that is of course a huge, huge topic, but let's put it this way: there is an uninterrupted tradition of it, at least in the West, and in spite of that the Church in former ages did not seem to suffer from bad marriages and families. The crisis of marriage and family, in fact, is linked to the same root: the sexual revolution in both its waves (1920s and 1960s). A society that cannot stay chaste will be capable neither of celibacy nor of lifelong faithful and fruitful marriage.
I can agree with some of that and will check out the pieces :) but chastity is not the answer to falling birth rates - Godly unions and having babies is and tradition out of context and the discernment of the Spirit is a dead letter. Speaking as someone who was prophetically told they would never have children by blood yet has been appointed by the Lord to act as guardian over my ex and at least one child (not mine) and has been prophetically trained in such a manner I am challenging the Churches authority to attempt to constrain God in this manner
A spectacular analysis, and one which long experience has proven only too true. I've long pitied all the good and holy Novus Ordo priests whom I've come to see as thoroughly hen-pecked husbands in a joyless, hopeless marriage -- totally enervated and emasculated by the blind arrogance and mindless jealousy of the self-important rite and hierarchy to which they are "tied".
The necessary flip side of JP2's genuine masculinity was his understanding and love of the truly feminine in Our Lady the Blessed Virgin Mary Mother of God. Totus tuus he said. The Lord is my Shepherd, he said. The proper understanding of gender is a pathway to God which is why the world is so desperate to deny it.
Well-said, and true. The only thing missing is mention of the utter failure of today's bishops to live as authentic shepherds, willing to fight and die for their flocks. Some of today's somnolent priests might be roused (like the Ents, perhaps?) if their bishops had even an iota of courage and manliness.
There's some truth to this, inasmuch as the sacramental character of the priesthood gives the priest access to and a claim on every grace he needs for heroic sanctity. But as with the graces of baptism, these often lie untapped, unused, unappreciated.
Evidence for what you're saying is that whenever a diocese HAS a good bishop, suddenly there are seminarians again (amazing!! - /s).
Bishops and those above contribute to the feeling of spiritual unsafety.
Very good analysis. Priestly vocations, like military recruitment, are often affected by parental influence. There is no way I would support any of my sons pursuing diocesan priesthood if I thought they had a vocation. They would be entering an environment either hostile or indifferent to tradition and managed by mostly lavender bishops. One might reasonably wonder if God, displeased by the effeminate mainstream Church, is permitting the rite of Paul VI to die a slow death by starving it of good priests.
100% true.
I think most parents who let their sons go into diocesan seminaries do not realize how bad things are. One may assume that is why they do not protest and recommend that they enter the FSSP, ICKSP, IBP, Clear Creek, etc.
Admittedly, I know many fine young men who want to be solid, manly priests and yet precisely want to serve in a particular diocese. The trouble is, they are setting themselves up for being sideswiped and undermined. Just look at the young presbyterate in Charlotte: all of them learning the TLM and loving it, and now Bishop Martin...
There will not be any safety in the dioceses until the TLM is restored.
This was so well written it almost made me weep. Yes! To ALL of this!
This piece is a splendid analysis of why the way forward is to lift up once again the peculiar martyrdom, bravery, and adventure which rightly belong to the priestly role. The piece also reminds me of a little discovery I made while beginning to read an assigned text for a recent online course through the Institute of Catholic Culture with the wonderful Anthony Esolen. In the Cistercian text, The Quest for the Holy Grail--an enchanting read--I noticed how routinely the knights are at Mass, sometimes in armor, sometimes not. But it is the celebrant of Mass (the knights are forever wandering into lonely chapels and tucked-away monasteries) who at one point is said to have "removed the armor of God" after concluding his service. It may have been a passing reference, but how it struck me: priestly vestments as armor! Knights at Mass, and priests as knights! That one instance impressed on my mind the fittingness of this imagery and pairing, since Calvary is the conquest of sin, death, and the devil. The Vetus Ordo continually rivets my attention to the terrible beauty of Christ's sacrifice, of Christ Himself, who is the Truth anticipated in all the mystery and magic of the hero myths.
What a great image to bear in mind!
In fact, the traditional vesting prayers for priests have a certain chivalrous language to them. The amice prayer in particular: "Lord, set the helmet of salvation on my head to fend off all the assaults of the devil."
In fact, mutatis mutandis I might use this text to shake my fellow knights of Malta!!
I, too, participated in Anthony Esolen’s ICC class on The Quest of the Holy Grail and was entranced. Thanks for pointing out that connection. We all need to be on the quest for perfect holiness through faith in our Savior!
Amen.
There is also the matter of bishops removing priests from active ministry for no apparent reason other than that priest is orthodox. This is an immeasurable scandal on two fronts - one, because it literally is a net -1 to the active priest total; two, because it then serves as a deterrent for a discerning man would shies from his vocation because he expects to be sidelined anyway. This scandal is also just so great because of how mad it is, the secrecy, the "clericalism" that Pope Francis supposedly decried while overseeing it in its most bullyish form, how much of an attack on the faithful who are then deprived of a confessor, liturgical availability, etc.
I couldn't agree more. Many's the time I've heard of a priest canceled for a fiery pro-life sermon, or making comments against abortion, contraception, or sodomy.
I was reading this article to my son who is discerning the priesthood.
“Most importantly, we need to stop trying to make the priesthood appeal to everyone and start making it appeal to the right men. The men who don’t want a job — they want a mission. The men who don’t want comfort — they want conquest. The men who don’t want to fit in — they want to stand out for something that matters.”
The priest sees something you don't. I have watched my FSSP priests pray and this is very evident. They are in touch with the Divine in ways we are not. By their very posture they draw us into their prayer and give us a share in their grace.
Fr. Robert McTeigue, S.J. on iCatholic Radio has always described the priests you refer to as Father Cheerful at St. Typical parish. This is such a wonderful essay. I need to drum up the nerve to copy and mail to a few Fr. Cheerfuls at many St. Typicals.
Fine article, thank you. I am awed at the courage of our priests here who serve our Novus Ordo aging population with fervour. The FSSP show us the results of their excellent training, and inspire us with their seminarians when they visit. The fruits of their labour shows in Masses full of young families, engaged in the sacramental program that is lacking elsewhere.
Yes, I suppose one downside of this article is that it speaks in black and white terms about the current situation. But there are exceptions even in the "mainstream Catholic world." This is mainly due, I would say, to Benedict XVI and the Summorum Pontificum "knock-on effect."
I did my best, but it just didn't do the trick.
I tried hard to listen to the entire presentation from beginning to end - soberly and thoughtfully - but I couldn't make it through much more than a third of the way
...before standing up to pound my fist on the desk and cheer! YYYESSS! More than a couple of times by the end of the entire narration!
The Militant Church takes up a great deal of my time and energy reflecting and writing, and the allegory of the fighting man - usually fighting fire and responding to medical emergencies and natural disasters - is always easy for me to run with. "Write what you know," as they say. Most of my social media reflections , not to mention the articles I've published, make extensive use of this image.
The PRIEST as the fighting man, though, is so very, very important! And, in his case, it is not an allegory!
A great article, that I've passed along to a colleague whose son - who is also a Latin student of mine - is one of a group of young men who is thinking of the priesthood.
This is the best article I've read on the desacralization of the Catholic priesthood since Fr. James McLucas's "The Emasculation of the Priesthood," originally published in The Latin Mass magazine (Spring 1998) and reproduced at OnePeterFive (1/16/15):
https://onepeterfive.com/emasculation-priesthood/
I agree with all that you have said but the clergy have lost moral authority and for so many people it's just too difficult to see past the scandals and cover ups. The beauty and mystery have sadly been sullied.
No doubt this is true. The challenge is to preserve what is mystically and eternally true of the priesthood (because of Christ the High Priest) in spite of the abuses of earthly images.
We had a homily on this last week. Our Diocese will ordain 3 Priests this year then it will have to wait another 7 years for just one. Truly they are becoming an endangered species.
Some of the points in this I agree with and others I don’t. Celibacy is appropriate for some and not for others. It should not be mandatory and this is not because of sex but actually because it would be better for a man, as St Paul actually suggested they should after Corinthians to have proven themselves running their own household before they are entrusted with stewarding Gods. As I said not always, but these things should be dealt with and discerned on a case by case basis with our minds not on the material but on what God is doing and what His plans are. This is important because one of the issues we are facing is the assault on the nuclear family and the Clergy have failed to defend it mostly because they lack any practical experience of its central importance of it as a blueprint from God how we are to live our lives and their experience is often in the broken homes produced by the 60s/70s and the sexual revolution but no experience of the graft of building their own functioning one centred on God. God often teaches us things by our horizontal relationships, especially how He is feeling. Witness the experience of Hosea for example so mandatory celibacy has to go as it is damaging the Gospel mission. God Himself said in Genesis said “It is not good that man be alone” and we are not to call that which God deems bad good nor that which God deems good bad.
Having said that you make some good points. Worrying about budgets as opposed to saving souls etc is a massive turn off. Elsewhere you said that the Priesthood essentially feels spiritually unsafe and that is correct. Men cannot serve two masters (btw in a marriage they are master of the house so no, this does not apply). Were I a Priest I would defy my Bishop and the Church rather than commit the blasphemy of blessing a same sex couple in any way. I would defy Rome itself rather than risk the wrath of Heaven and I would never betray my God because the Church demanded it. I would also prefer the Latin Mass and do my best to teach my congregation Latin, no matter what Rome said, just as I am learning it through choice. The deviation on these things does make the Priesthood feel spiritually unsafe.
However, the real question as always is we need to ask why God has stopped calling people to the Priesthood. It is like falling birth rates which are Gods Judgement on our disregard for the sanctity of life principally (and marriage). God will not bless us with new life when we as a Western society treat life with contempt. God will not bless the Church with new Priests while it keeps especially Fiducia Supplicans in place in open rebellion against Him.
Thanks for this comment. I can agree with most of what you are saying here. I don't believe God has stopped calling men to the priesthood (or religious life, for that matter); only that modern ears are stuffed full of wax and we don't hear his voice or respond to it.
On the question of celibacy, that is of course a huge, huge topic, but let's put it this way: there is an uninterrupted tradition of it, at least in the West, and in spite of that the Church in former ages did not seem to suffer from bad marriages and families. The crisis of marriage and family, in fact, is linked to the same root: the sexual revolution in both its waves (1920s and 1960s). A society that cannot stay chaste will be capable neither of celibacy nor of lifelong faithful and fruitful marriage.
See this article for more on the celibacy question: https://onepeterfive.com/eastern-catholics-celibacy/
And on marriage in general: https://www.amazon.com/Treasuring-Goods-Marriage-Throwaway-Society/dp/1644138549
I can agree with some of that and will check out the pieces :) but chastity is not the answer to falling birth rates - Godly unions and having babies is and tradition out of context and the discernment of the Spirit is a dead letter. Speaking as someone who was prophetically told they would never have children by blood yet has been appointed by the Lord to act as guardian over my ex and at least one child (not mine) and has been prophetically trained in such a manner I am challenging the Churches authority to attempt to constrain God in this manner
A spectacular analysis, and one which long experience has proven only too true. I've long pitied all the good and holy Novus Ordo priests whom I've come to see as thoroughly hen-pecked husbands in a joyless, hopeless marriage -- totally enervated and emasculated by the blind arrogance and mindless jealousy of the self-important rite and hierarchy to which they are "tied".
Sadly, I must "like" your comment, because it is all too true.
The necessary flip side of JP2's genuine masculinity was his understanding and love of the truly feminine in Our Lady the Blessed Virgin Mary Mother of God. Totus tuus he said. The Lord is my Shepherd, he said. The proper understanding of gender is a pathway to God which is why the world is so desperate to deny it.
A disturbing and excellent article.