DANGER WILL ROBINSON

 

I was on a much needed retreat last week. Trinity Retreat House is a retreat center run by the Diocese of New York and it is specifically for priests which changes the tenor of the house tremendously in much the same way that if a person was going on retreat they might choose one either for married couples or for single persons depending on their state in life.

The retreat master gave eight signs that a priest is seriously off track and in spiritual danger. Here they are:

1. Prayer ceases to be a part of your daily life.
2. Devoting more and more time to entertainment.
3. An over valuing of the opinion of the media.
4. Seeing God’s way mocked and it no longer bothers you.
5. Give yourself reason to be angry and judgmental.
6. Removing oneself from brothers in ministry.
7. The Holy Mysteries of the Church celebrated functionally.
8. With forethought harm those in the Church with detraction.

Now, there are commonalities between everyone’s way in life so these can be largely used or slightly adjusted to help diagnose a non-clerical spiritual life. Let’s give it a go:

1. Prayer ceases to be a part of your daily life.
2. Devoting more and more time to entertainment.
3. An over valuing of the opinion of the media.
4. Seeing God’s way mocked (such as by a comedian) and it no longer bothers you.
5. Give yourself reason to be angry and judgmental.
6. Removing oneself from the community of faith and their functions.
7. Perhaps being present but not giving yourself over to the celebration of the sacraments.
8. With forethought detracting others from the faith/Church and her people.