In other words, the Catholic church has failed to deliver what people consider fundamental products of religion: spiritual sustenance and a good worship service. And before conservatives blame the new liturgy, only 11 percent of those leaving complained that Catholicism had drifted too far from traditional practices such as the Latin Mass. His full essay is online at the National Catholic Reporter.
Link (here) to read the full blog post at The Pittsburgh Post-Gazatte
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"The priest's strong faith in what he teaches will, in large measure, determine how persuasively and effectively his teaching will affect the Faithful. Nothing convinces like conviction. Nothing is more persuasive than certitude. Speaking for my fellow priests and myself, if we are convinced of what we teach others to believe and carry it into practice, then the people will be able to follow, not just our words but our example. But if we fail them, God help them. That is a prayer.
This is what our people most need in today's confused and convulsive world: priests who are men of faith, who see the unseen, and who are therefore able to tell everyone who enters the ambit of their ministry about the passing nature of this life and the glorious city on high that awaits all who believe.
However, this is not only a matter of good example, although it includes that too; but it partakes of that mysterious law of procreation which obtains not only in the order of nature, but also in the realm of grace. LIKE PRODUCES LIKE. And under God there are only miraculous exceptions. LIKE PRIESTS, LIKE PEOPLE. Faith reproduces faith. Or, as we also sadly know, UBELIEF REPRODUCES UNBELIEF.
If we priests are to transmit a strong faith to the Faithful, we must ourselves have experienced the realities of our faith by nourishing them at the fountain of prayer. Prayerful union with Jesus Christ, the High Priest, is the only way that a priest can remain priestly. The saddest thing on earth is a priestless priest".
--John Hardon SJ Servant of God
Fr. Reese? A priestless priest...
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