My dear brothers and sisters of Arundel & Brighton,
Many people will think that by now Christmas is over, now that the presents are given and the turkey is at least partly eaten. But for us, Christmas goes on until January 10, the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, when we are reminded that we share in Christ’s mission to bring knowledge of the Father to the world.
I’m not really in a position to understand what pressure there is on parents at this time of the year. For some there may be no pressure at all - and how lucky they are - but for others there may well be the need to try and satisfy demand for the things that their children’s friends have, many of them with the letter ‘i’ at the beginning. So while in many ways it must be so rewarding to be a parent, I suspect that it is also very challenging and difficult these days.
Now while this might seem a bit of a leap and radical change of direction - I don’t think it is - I want to talk about your priest. This year, beginning last summer, was designated the year of the priest by Pope Benedict. And while it’s a time for priests to think about their own ministry, it’s also a time for the rest of us to reflect on what we think the priest does for us. And in the same way that children often take their parents for granted, I wonder if we take the presence and ministry of our priests for granted. I know that this may well have changed drastically in those parishes that have lost a resident priest, but we have ensured that all parishioners do have access to Mass on Sunday.
And so at the risk of embarrassing your priest, especially if he is reading this out, rather than playing the CD we so generously provide, I want you to look at him and think for a moment about who he is. He’s not just the person who says Mass on Sunday. Often people will say around this time of the year, "It’s your busy time, Father." That’s not true. All the time is his busy time, and in fact Christmas and Easter can sometimes be quieter because people leave the priest alone, because it’s his busy time. All it means is that they’re thinking about religion a bit more. He’s thinking about it all the time. Priesthood isn’t a job or a career. Young people sometimes ask what comes after priest, meaning ‘what’s next in the career structure?’ but the simple answer is usually ‘being dead for a long time’. There is no career structure; there is – we hope – no ambition for titles or something bigger. The priest simply gives his life in service, and in service to you. He doesn’t give it to the Church, as if the Church is some abstract organisation that exists somewhere else, perhaps Rome. He gives his life to you, in response to the call of the Lord, and in this way he gives his life to God, without hope of reward, except the reward of knowing that he is doing the will of God.
So how can we try and understand that better? People often ask me what they should call me, and the easiest thing is to call anyone in a collar ‘Father’, I tell them. Because that’s what we call our priests. For some people ‘Father’ may not be the best word, and they may like to think of him perhaps as a parent. And that might be a good way to express it. I would argue that the word ‘community’ is not always helpful. A parish is not really one community that includes everybody. If you go to Mass at 9.30 it may well be that you never meet the people who go at 11.30. So it may be better to think of the parish as family, with all the complications, pressures, difficulties and joys that family life brings. A family will do things together, but not everybody will agree on what they want to do. A family will have its arguments and disagreements, and family members will disappear, especially as young people reach adolescence. But it’s the parents who provide for that family, give it security and try and meet its needs. And that’s what the priest does for the family that is the parish.
So I ask you not to take that for granted, but to value it and support that priest in what is often a lonely task, especially if he is by himself. This is also a chance for me to say how much I value the support of the priests of this diocese. At different times many of them have written words of support for me, and I am well aware of their dedication and loyalty to this diocese, and their willingness to embrace the challenges that face them as their numbers decline and their responsibilities increase. I was in a parish house recently, and as we looked round the house and reached the third floor, I asked the priest how many priests used to live here. He said, "Four, sometimes five." He’s by himself now.
Today, by happy coincidence, is the Feast of the Holy Family, and I would really like you to think of ways in which you can show your appreciation of the parent of this family in the year ahead. I said in a covering letter to the clergy that I was sorry that I didn’t say all this before Christmas, because I know that you are very generous to your priests at Christmas. But generosity can be expressed in all sorts of ways. It is good sometimes just to hear a word of appreciation and gratitude, and to have someone offer to do something before you have to ask them. As with all parents, you may not always approve of what your priest does, and you may fall out with him. That’s what happens in families. When you look at the family of your parish you might think that it looks like the Simpsons, but that’s not a bad thing. Most Catholics in the world have no parish priest to complain about. So look after yours, appreciate what he is doing for you, regardless of how you think he might do it better. And pray for him, as he prays for you.
I wish you a happy Feast of the Holy Family. When we speak of the ‘nuclear family’ we don’t mean something with the capacity for a huge explosion, but rather something that is the nucleus or the heart of our society. Do all that you can to support that, because there is a very important public debate around this right now. As one paper said recently, family is either the crucial question, or it’s a distraction from the real issues. Personally, I can’t see issues in society that aren’t profoundly connected with family. If you see a family in difficulty, see if there is anything you can do to help.
I pray that you have a very happy and peaceful 2010 and I look forward to meeting many of you during the year.
Bishop Kieran
Pastoral Letter Audio
open below
