BEND — Be holy, be faithful, be firm, be compassionate, be available, be generous. Last week I looked at the first two of these and this week I look at the rest.
Be firm. Be compassionate. It is not an easy thing to take on a position of leadership because of the exaggerated sense of independence and autonomy in our culture. Thus, in the face of that culture it is necessary to be firm. At the same time, however, there is a great need for a balanced and compassionate firmness. I do not pretend, in writing this, that I fully understand or personally implement such a balanced and compassionate firmness, but this seems to be one of the major sources of discomfort for our people. In this firmness there is no room for harshness or heavy handedness. This firmness requires unremitting patience and great humility. Those who lead in the Kingdom of Christ are not to do so in the manner in which civil leaders exercise authority. The greatest among you must be the servant of all.
While it may be very easy to point fingers at the shortcomings of bishops, and there is a multitude of them, each of us can only properly examine our own. From my perspective, however, receiving many reports from a variety of parishioners this is an area where we all need some improvement. Bishops do not have direct and regular contact with you or your people on a weekly basis but you do have regular contact with the people of your parish. You represent the boots on the ground and the people’s attitude toward bishops and toward the Church is largely determined by how they perceive you or how they perceive the bishop through your presentation of him. So the question for reflection here would be: Are you in the midst of your people as one who serves?
In this regard I need to make a comment on Parish Councils, whether Pastoral or Finance. There is no doubt that these parochial representatives are for the most part consultative. This does not mean that you should not listen and actively hear their concerns. It is not always necessary for you to “obey” your Councils but you may not at the same time, simply dismiss their concerns. At least some members of the Parish Council should be elected from candidates whom the Pastor approves but the Pastor’s approval should not be based on those who always agree with him. Imagine how you would feel if the Diocesan Priests’ Council were comprised exclusively of those priests whom the bishop approved because they will always agree with him. Imagine how much opprobrium a bishop would generate if he were to dismiss from the Priests’ Council a priest who voices opposing opinions. We may not always agree with some of the voices on the Council but we must try to listen and to actively hear the points which are made. Parish Councils can be painful but they can also be very helpful in moderating our own firmness with compassion and understanding. It is not proper to dismiss those who disagree with us and appoint our friends and then claim that we have the consensus of the Parish.
Both the Parish and the Finance Council need Pastoral guidance and leadership. They need neither heavy handed dictatorship nor pastoral abdication. It is necessary to review and implement Diocesan Statutes which, in many cases, offer the standards for the Diocese regarding such Councils. A humble acceptance of those statutes or your adverse reaction to them may be an indication of how well you are willing to serve your people in a properly authoritative fashion. Be firm but be compassionate.
I sometimes wish that we could work only with those who wholeheartedly agree with everything we do or say but that is not an option for any of us. We, as spiritual servants of our people, cannot dismiss any of our parishioners no matter how ultra liberal or ultra conservative they may be. I generally find that it is categorically impossible to fulfill adequately the expectations or even demands of those who want either far more or far less. This can be a point of great frustration for us and yet in the midst of that we must stand as men who serve.
Be available. Be generous. It has been said in many seminaries that the phone, the doorbell, the regular schedule of parish events is the Vox Dei, the Voice of God. This is a voice which sometimes calls at inopportune or difficult moments and yet we are in the midst of our people as men who serve. While it is not possible for any of us to be in our parishes all of the time we must be very careful that we do not put limits on our availability. Answering machines may be a fact of life but answering machines do not provide counsel or sacraments. Answering machines allow people an opportunity to leave a message but the urgency of the call often precludes the possibility of waiting for a response to the message. In some ways having regular “Office Hours” is a good idea but the needs of our people often arise without warning and often outside of the regularly established hours. Availability is a great act of generosity and, in many ways, that generosity “costs us.” Yet, we are ordained to serve and our availability and the generosity which that availability manifests is a strong sign to our people that we are in their midst as one who serves.
Be holy, be faithful, be firm, be compassionate, be available, be generous. This is a short list of the attitudes of being which every priest should strive to exemplify. They are, at the same time, attitudes of being which every one needs to translate to the circumstances of their own lives. I suspect that while this list is attractive for us to insist upon for our priests we may fail to recognize that it puts each of us on notice as well. If our priests deepen in holiness then this would necessitate our own growth in holiness. If there is greater faithfulness on the part of priests relative to the details of liturgy then everyone in every pew will be affected. Sometimes even a suitable pastoral, compassionate firmness will mean that our own wants and desires may not be implemented. Sometimes the fact that the priest is available to someone else may mean that he is not available for us. Then it is for us to be generous.
