A list of unsolicited advice from a lay Catholic
This is not an easy post. I am a Catholic faithful, and I would never want to disrespect God’s chosen priests. They are His vessels of grace. Through them, we can receive the body and blood of Jesus Christ.
But I do not want to be remiss in my duty as a Catholic. As the Venerable Fulton Sheen once said:
“Who’s going to save our Church? It’s not our bishops, it’s not our priests and it is not the religious. It is up to you, the people. You have the minds, the eyes and the ears to save the Church. Your mission is to see that the priests act like priests, your bishops act like bishops, and the religious act like religious.”
With all humility and prayer, I list down some of my suggestions for priests below:
1. Let the mass be more holy than entertaining
While some jokes are tasteful and even helpful to get one’s message across, it is very difficult to tell jokes in good taste without sacrificing the sanctity of the occasion.
We can be tempted to make more jokes than necessary and to change our focus from preaching the Gospel to entertaining the people. We can be tempted to please ourselves by hearing the laughter and the clapping from the crowd.
Jokes can even end up offending people. Since not everyone has the same personality and therefore, the same taste in humor, some people may take offense at jokes that seem to insult or to judge them.
“Although jokes are at times fitting and pleasant, nevertheless they are incompatible with the ecclesiastical rule.”—St. Ambrose, Doctor of the Church
“Nothing so becomes a church as silence and good order. Noise belongs to theatres, and baths, and public processions, and market-places: but where doctrines, and such doctrines, are the subject of teaching, there should be stillness, and quiet, and calm reflection, and a haven of much repose.”—St. John Chrysostom, Doctor of the Church
“Whenever applause breaks out in the liturgy because of some human achievement, it is a sure sign that the essence of liturgy has totally disappeared and been replaced by a kind of religious entertainment”
— Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, The Spirit of the Liturgy
2. Remind people more about the sacrificial character of the mass.
A mass is not an amusement park or a movie theater where people go to be entertained. It is not a comedy bar where they pay a fee to laugh and to be amused.
We must remember that Jesus Christ suffered and died for us and shed His blood to redeem us. What is mass but the sacrifice of Christ to save us all?
While we must rejoice at His resurrection, should we not grieve for His passion like His Blessed Mother did?
“When you hear Mass, do you come in the same frame of mind as the Blessed Virgin at Calvary? Because it is the same God, and the same Sacrifice.”—St. John Vianney
“When you are before the altar where Christ reposes, you ought no longer to think that you are amongst men; but believe that there are troops of angels and archangels standing by you, and trembling with respect before the sovereign Master of Heaven and earth. Therefore, when you are in church, be there in silence, fear, and veneration.”—St. John Chrysostom, Doctor of the Church
“Do not try to please everybody.
Try to please God, the angels and the saints –
they are your public.”
– St John Marie Baptiste Vianney
3. Lessen discussions dwelling on politics.
I understand that there are times when we need to take a stand even on political issues. But this should not be the focus of our evangelization.
Even in the time of Jesus, when the Jews were under Roman rule and there were so many political issues to discuss, Jesus did not make it the center of His mission. When asked about tax, He gave His audience a profound answer:
“Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” (Mark 12:17, WEBBE)
If we preach to the people the important spiritual principles, they will be formed in a way of thinking that will help them decide even on political matters.
Let us also refrain from putting certain political figures on a pedestal to the point of resting our faith on them instead of God. While we can do our utmost in studying the facts, we can still be wrong in judging people along the way. Only God sees. We do our best in acting out of a righteous character and we pray for God to do the rest.
“Wherever politics tries to be redemptive, it is promising too much. Where it wishes to do the work of God, it becomes not divine, but demonic.”
– Pope Benedict-XVI, Truth And Tolerance
“Sanctify yourself and you will sanctify society.”—St. Francis Of Assisi
4. Speak the truth in love.
There are two pitfalls when it comes to speaking about the truth. The first is to act like self-righteous Pharisees and cast misjudgment on others, looking down on them and treating them with harshness. The second is to take up a kind of tolerance that no longer recognizes truth for the sake of pleasing people.
We should avoid both extremes. Speak the truth. But speak the truth in love.
“Do not accept anything as the truth if it lacks love. And, do not accept anything as love which lacks truth.”
— St. Edith Stein
“Priests must not be quick-tempered or rash, they must, instead, be temperate and thoughtful. We must support those we challenge and challenge those we support. If we neglect this, our work will lack either courage or gentleness. What shall we call the human soul but the food of the Lord? It is created, to become nothing less, than Christ’s body and to bring about growth in the eternal church.”—St Pope Gregory the Great
5. Tell people more about the spiritual world.
It is good to encourage people about their daily lives. But I hope that we can also hear more about the spiritual world. Speak to us more about heaven and the reality of angels. Warn us about the dangers of the occult. Enlighten us about exorcism and the existence of evil spirits.
We need to be reminded that there is something more beyond the secular world we live in. After all, it is by faith that we continue to believe in the God we cannot see (save through the mystery of the Eucharist).
“We feel the world invaded by the powers of evil. Sin is very near, rising on the horizon with admirably organized human power. At physical, psychological and intellectual levels, the devil himself utilizes a power higher than ours, and normally it assures him at least apparent victories. How can we overcome him? We can only do it by supernatural means… by prayer.” – Marie-Eugene of the Child Jesus, OCD, Where the Spirit Breathes
Final Words
I would like to thank all priests for the priceless work that they do for God. I cannot even begin to imagine the sacrifices they make each day for the sake of their mission.
I hope that reading this would help you in examining the things you can still improve and pray for. I may not be entirely correct. I do make mistakes! But I hope that this becomes a venue for growth and realization, even on things I did not even mention in the article.
God bless you and keep you safe during these difficult times. God be with you always!
“If the priest is a saint, the people will be fervent;
if the priest is fervent, the people will be pious;
if the priest is pious, the people will at least be decent;
if the priest is only decent, the people will be godless.
The spiritual generation is always one-degree less intense in its life than the one who begets it in Christ.”
– Jean-Baptiste Chautard, O.C.S.O. The Soul of the Apostolate
Jocelyn Soriano is the author of the free e-books “Defending My Catholic Faith” and “Questions to God”. Read more of my writings when you subscribe to Single Catholic Writer—click here.
The thing about hope is that it’s a positive force that shines the most when it’s dark. When everything’s going well, we hardly notice it’s there. But when things go against us, when our dreams fade and when we see no immediate reprieve from our troubles, that’s when hope does its best work for us.
"Where Hope Can Be Found"