EVERYBODY WEARS A HABIT OF SOME KIND

I was reading a fictional book the other day and it concerned a notorious criminal who went about in disguise.  In one location, the book said, he went about dressed as a Catholic priest.  This part of the book did not ring true to me and here is why:

When I go about town in my collar, people wave, say hello, and in general notice that a priest is in their midst.  I can take the same path 10 minutes later, be around people I know, and they don’t so much as smile at me.  I might wave and they will shyly raise their hand until it dawns on them who I am. 

“Oh Father!  I didn’t know it was you!  Are you incognito?”  And these are people who stare at my face every Sunday.  Nobody notices me - at least not at first, they notice the collar.  So for a criminal to go “unnoticed” by wearing a Roman collar just seems unrealistic to me.

It is why I am such a proponent for wearing religious garb in public.

EVERYBODY wears a habit.  If you want proof, go to a Rubber Ducks or any professional sports game and see how many habits you will come across.  You know who the hipsters are, you know who corporate America is, you know the Goths (are they still around?), you know who supports you team and you know who supports the competition.  

I understand that we want to blend in so that we are not “put apart from” the rest of the world.  I get that thought.  But gone too far to an extreme we blend in so well that we disappear.  

MONDAY DIARY - COLLARED

Last week was the Akron Art Expo and on Sunday after the Mass schedule Fr. P. and I decided to go walk over for a peek. It was hot and I asked Father, “Do you want to go over in shorts or like clerics.” Here’s where it is fun being with a bloke who is new and on fire with the priesthood. “In our blacks of course,” he replied. Fortunately the streets in this part of Akron are lined with giant shade trees and so it was not so bad. If nuns could survive in full habits over the centuries I could survive in light cotton black shirt.

It does make a difference. On Saturday having the dog out on a walk (I was in shorts) I spied a coffee table that Father could use in his room at a yard sale. Back at the rectory I grabbed him and we walked to the sale, bought the table and walked it back home. I man stopped me at Mass this weekend and said he saw Fr. P. walking down the street carrying furniture with a homeless man and was he not just grand. *sigh*

Anyway, back at the Expo, I got stuck unusually long waiting for a deep fried Oreo (O my) and when I finally got my deep fried treat Fr. was in a deep conversation with a young man. He had left the Church some time ago for all of the usual reasons – gay marriage – abortion – etc. – and came up to Father and asked, “Are you a Catholic priest?” One must ask these days. It seems so many people are wearing these popish collars. “I was wondering if I could talk to you . . .”

It seems that I write a lot about visible clergy but every so often it is reinforced in my book (not every agrees) how terribly important it is.

Okay - the picture here came up in a search for "priests in a crowd." This is a "Hunk Priest of the Month Calendar." I couldn't beleive it. But here it is.

MONDAY DIARY - WIRED FOR SOUND

Last Tuesday the no longer named Fr. O and I ran an errand together. He was stopping by just long enough to tackle our little excursion and then he was to be off. As we scooted about I told him that I shared with you his flopped attempt at going by the moniker Fr. O. We tried “Fr. J” and that seemed to lack a certain ring too. Later in the week I found out from his brother that his initials are actually JP. Now that has a ring to it. Maybe we can make him JP Three.

On our way back to the rectory I offered the, for now named, Fr. J a cup of coffee at a local establishment since we were going to be done early. “No,” he said, “Today is my day for running errands and I want to get them all done.” That was fine and thought perhaps I could get a few phone calls and Emails taken care of before the next thing on my own agenda. That is when I had the strange sensation one gets when you prepare yourself for a turn but the car keeps going straight as if you were slipping on an icy road, the car continuing on its path though the tires are pointed off to the right.

“You do realize that you just passed my driveway?”

“Yes. I changed my mind. Coffee sounds good. Where do you want to go?”

Just that week I had been reading the back of our bulletin and noticed that there is only one coffee house there. “To the Nervous Dog!” I instructed him. The Nervous Dog is in a thoroughly uninspiring building but once inside the four walls of the coffee house’s cube it is quite nice. As we were walking it occurred to me that something interesting always seems to happen in this particular place. I don’t know that it is this place exactly but that interesting things always seemed to happen. And they did this day also.

We made our coffee order and I asked our server to say thank you to the manager who advertises in our bulletin. A young man standing next to me who seemed to be waiting for one of those complicated drinks that take five minutes to make introduced himself to me and asked from which parish I came. “I’m from Saint Sebastian too!” he exclaimed though it turned out he had not cast a shadow in a pew in some years. I offered to take him over to a private section of the place and hear his confession so he could come to Mass that very weekend and receive Communion but he declined. Nobody every takes me up on that offer.

Settling ourselves into some nice club chairs in the window from where the clock could be seen we chatted and carefully sipped our too hot coffee waiting for it to cool down. “Excuse me.” We looked up. It was the young man from the counter. “Would you mind if I asked you a question? I mean, how often do you get a priest so handy to ask questions to?”

He asked his question which was of no minor concern which soon required the acquiring of another chair. A few minutes more and one of his compatriots joined us. “I’m afraid of priests,” she informed us, “but I have some questions too.” The nature of her questions were such that I could understand why she might think she should be concerned about bringing things up to a couple of priests. But if a person is open to conversation there is no need to be defensive on either side. We stated clearly that we would give and defend the Catholic position as clearly as we knew how (and believe me the questions were weighty and difficult) but we would also be respectful if they disagreed. A great discussion then took place but it did trump our plans for getting busy work done that day. It was a great exchange of information, fellowship, and community.

By and large people know the teachings of the Catholic Church. Well, they think they do. They know the “Don’t”s; a bit less the “Do”s, and almost never the “Whys.” Without the “Do”s and the “Why”s, the “Don’t”s can seem very arid and depressing. The only difficulty is the “Don’t”s take about half a second to teach, the other two categories take an unexpected afternoon at a coffee shop. But even if we have not brought more people into practicing the faith by it, there is some good will (in both directions) and some clearing of some misconceptions. When with their peers a topic of Church teaching comes up, they will be able to say, “Actually, I talked to some priests and what they told us was . . .”

Of course, we too now have a better idea of from where they are coming. That will help us in our ministry.

BUT SHOULD STEELERS FANS WEAR THEIR JERSEYS IN CLEVELAND?

One of our more talented young priests seems to find himself regularly published in various Catholic mediums. This past week Fr. D. gave a heads up about an article he wrote that will soon be printed in “U.S. Catholic.” The article concerns itself with whether those in priestly and religious vocation should be wearing clothing that publicly gives witness to the vocation they have chosen. It is a very well written and intelligent article and you can find it here.

But what you might find interesting is that following the article there is a survey inquiring what you think about the issue. It will not take you long to realize that it is a heavily skewed set of questions, but you might enjoy engaging in it all the same. Presumably some of the comments will be included with the article.

Long time readers of Adam’s Ale will surely know the basic stance on this position from the person whose fingers stamp out these prose. In the end however it has to be realized that our opinions are not worth they cyberspace they are electronically brought up on. It is the same set of principles that will determine who will survive in the future in the contraception and abortion debate: those who are striving mightily to end their bloodline or those who enjoying full families. In regards to habits and collars versus no habits and collars, the practice that will flourish in the Church in the next twenty years are those that attract faithful, practicing Catholics that wish to adopt a vocation. Orders that attract young vocations will grow, those that do not will practically be gone. Priests also tend to attract to the priesthood similarly minded men. Time alone will tell where that is going (though it seems to be clear to many already.)

That being said I would like to share with you a couple of my answers to the survey (just in case the magazine is not wise enough to print them!) One is that it may be true that the wearing of the habit or the collar will not bring anyone to conversion but look at it this way; suppose a person is a Steelers fan. He may wear a Steelers jersey. I doubt that seeing him wear that jersey will make me Steelers fan. But it did make me think of the Steelers when I perhaps had no cause to. It may make me more aware that even in Cleveland there are Steelers fans. Who would have thought? It may cheer other Steelers fans that see him and even be a cause of friendly words between them – a recognition of what binds them. If I had been wanting to ask a someone who is a Steelers fan a question, I might take the opportunity. And it may make me think twice before cheering for the Browns in their presence.

A second question asked that if we expect priests and religious to dress so boldly, should we not expect laypersons to do the same? Should they not be encouraged to wear crucifixes or T-shirts and hats that announce their religious proclivities? That has a time and a place but is not necessarily so. But it is just as important a witness that lay people dress in such a way that shows their piety, their modesty, adorning the body as to bring the greatest respect and honor to it, to the virtue of chastity, and in showing respect for others and their Creator.

Those are my thoughts. If you have the time, go and read and share your insights!

TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING?

Picture a small group of guys sitting around chewing the fat. One of them is a priest wearing his collar. One of them (not the priest) is telling a story part of which goes something like this, “So the guy backed his truck up and dumped a whole *!#% load of it on his neighbor’s lawn.” Realizing what he said in from of a priest he turns and says, “Sorry Father!”

I used to blow such things off and say, “Don’t worry about it,” but that never quite sat well. There is something wrong about a Catholic speaking that way. Even in the process of using the word that good Catholic seeing an iconic symbol of our calling to holiness was able to call himself up on it. Pretty cool.

An article in the “New Dictionary of Theology” talks about Catholics surrounding themselves with certain things of this world to aid us in keeping our eyes on the next. Not only do we have our community, our stories, Sacred Scripture and Tradition, our practices and prayers, we also have a great amount of symbolic imagery, “which supports and undergirds the whole enterprise,” providing us with stimulus and motivation and creating “a climate favorable” to the type of life to which we are called. Perhaps it would be better if we could just accomplish good lives without all the outward stimulus, but in a world that constantly bombards us with stimuli to act in a way contrary to the life of a Catholic, it is in many ways essential.

All this comes to you by way of a comment shared by a fellow priest that has my liturgical underwear in a bunch. A young priest was called to task by another priest for wearing his collar “too much”. Yes, there are times I do not wear my collar. Many times it is just because they are so incredibly expensive (so I don’t wear them hanging around the rectory on my day off for example) and would think a priest odd if he wore his collar to the beach like in the famous Coke commercial.

There is a fear however that a priest who wears his collar “too much” is somehow clerical, perhaps wearing his collar for the wrong reasons, using it for power, or as something to hide behind. This is possible. But the problem is not in wearing the collar “too much”, but in the character of the person. Shaming him into not wearing it will not cure the problem. Some of the most clerical priests on the face of the earth are those who refuse to wear a Roman Collar.

Yesterday (as this was being composed) there was news of yet another school shooting in Cleveland. As I was on the treadmill pictures of the event popped up on every television and on every channel. Does this not happen every time there is such a tragedy? From the first moment a camera gets on the scene the coverage is non-stop till long after everyone has run out of things to say.

Add to this that a great amount of our common stories are about violence being a legitimate way to solve problems. This occurs on television, at the movies and in our popular novels. I would be willing to bet the shooter’s music glorified violence; perhaps the graphics on his T-shirts, the posters in his room, and the billboards around his house either glorified force or failed to in some way to uphold the dignity of human life. Would that he, at a crucial moment in his formative years, instead of seeing another scene such as these, he had seen a young priest who was wearing his collar “too much”.

Young(er) priests, don’t worry about it. It takes a while to get the hang of when it is absolutely necessary for you to wear your clerics and when it is Okay not too. And there tends not to be hard and fast rules though Pope John Paul II often instructed priests and religious to always wear their distinctive (clerical) clothing, unless wearing it would result in persecution or grave verbal attacks. In a world full of messages and symbols contrary to our own it is not such a bad thing that we stick our symbols as boldly out there.

THE PRIEST AND THE BIRD

Walking out of the store yesterday I saw a pleasant enough looking young lady riding in a car. She had the window rolled down, her hand extended and her middle finger pointing toward God. At first I thought the thoughtful gesture was aimed in my direction, but then she caught sight of me in my Roman collar and her finger wilted like a wet, hot noodle in boiling water. Simultaneously there was apparently something that she wanted to look at intently in the exact opposite direction from whence I was standing.

Sometimes people wonder if religious garb is passé or unnecessary. Hollywood clearly thinks otherwise. If you need religious symbolism to get a point across, out come the habits and the collars (and the candles and the statues . . .).

I find it patently unfair that when some organizations (who shall remain anonymous) want to raise money all of a sudden out come pictures of nuns in habits that they have not worn for years. But that is because they know the symbolism does something. (That is not to say that there are not perfectly good nuns who do good work who do not wear habits.)

Think of a pan of a crowd in a news segment that catches a priest or sister in religious garb. For that instant, thoughts of Church, God, and Catholicism pop into mind.

When I was a baby priest, occasionally I would be walking down the street and catch a glimpse of myself with my collar on in a store window. It would jolt me into remembering that I was living a very public Catholic life involving powerful symbols and that my actions meant something to other people. It is not about me, a humbling lesson to learn, but about that collar and what it is supposed to represent.

For good or bad, symbols play a huge role in our lives. What a blessing to use this gift to remind people that even in a parking lot of a strip mall on a Thursday God is still present and that we should live our lives accordingly.