Thursday, October 11, 2007

Sounds from (this) priest's day

"Did you hear? One of our local boys died--first casualty of the war from Piqua..."

"Father, what vestments do you need for the nursing home Mass today?"

"Hmmm... green--but, what time is it, anyway? Five after 10? Oh my!"

"The dogs are cute...they aren't staying for Mass, are they?"

"You'll have five folks to visit in their rooms after Mass."

"In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit..."

(from a very confused elderly woman--at Mass): "Help! help! This isn't working!"

"Blessed are they who hope in the Lord."

"Help, I can't reach it!"

"Janitorial, come to Room 103; Janitorial to Room 103..."

"This is my Body..."

"Help, someone did this wrong! Come fix it!"

(to same confused woman): "Do you want to receive communion?" "Yes!" "Okay, be very still and quiet now...the Blood of Christ" (administered with an eye-dropper).

"I'm going to put my hands on your head and pray silently...then I'm going to anoint your head and your hands..."

"Father, I've been away from the church twelve years..."

"Fr. Tom, Linda and Tony won't be at the staff meeting today...let's get started."

"Father, the family of that boy just called..."

"Can you come and pray with us just a short while?"

"If I don't make it back by 5, will you open up church? I have a wedding rehearsal at 5:30."

"Father ___, can you visit the hospital for me? I won't make it down today. Thank you so much!"

"Saints of God, come to his aid..."

"He loved Ohio State football."

"Here, take some sandwiches with you, Father!"

"Father, you called about a grant application? Give me your email, I'll send it to you..."

"_____ is on the line, he wants to follow up that proposal he sent you..."

...as of 4:28 pm; wedding rehearsal and then school board at 7 pm.

To live in the midst of the world without wishing its pleasures;
to be a member of each family, yet belonging to none;
to share all sufferings; to penetrate all secrets; to heal all wounds;
to go from men to God and offer Him their prayers;
to return from God to men to bring pardon and hope;
to have a heart of fire for charity and a heart of bronze for chastity;
to teach and to pardon; console and bless always.
My God, what a life! And it is yours, O Priest of Jesus Christ!
--Father Henri Lacordaire, OP, 1802-61.

6 comments:

the Joneses said...

Great post, Father. I loved it.

--DJ

Anonymous said...

sounds a lot like my house!

Anonymous said...

For some reason, this post gave me chills. I could visualize the happenings with each line. Very bittersweet, and praying for the soul of that boy and the sacrifice the family has made.

God Bless you!

Tracy

Anonymous said...

Oh my ... tomorrow at Mass I'll remember you, Fr. Martin, andask God to grant you the strength you need to keep serving your people. Your days make mine (supposedly busy) sound like a walk in the park. God bless you. Regards, Patricia Gonzalez

Adoro said...

Great post! Now that I work at a church, I can actually "see" some of that going on, picturing Fr. J. handling all of that, knowing that my voice is in the mix as I have to bring something to his attention or discuss it....he goes from business meetings, to funerals, to appearances in the school, to meeting with us (in faith formation)...

For most of us, while we remember snippets of conversations from our day, it's not that heavy. Everything you posted has WEIGHT to it, and it's a weight that goes beyond the norm; it's indicative of a deeper meaning, a transcendant encounter. Thank you for sharing it with us.

I'd hazard a guess that most of us who read you (if not all) pray for priests constantly. And indeed, we need to pray even more.

Anonymous said...

That post is amazing. Thanks!