Parish Priest-When will he be transferred? Fr. Nelson Lobo OFM Cap

     WONDERING GURU

 

A lady said to a priest who was transferred.

Lady: “Father we are all sorry you are going.”

Priest: “Don’t worry, the bishop will send you a better man”.

Lady: “That’s what they told us when your predecessor was transferred”.

            The months of May/June are the months of transfers. Transfer of Priests becomes an important part of people’s conversation. I place before you imaginary thoughts and feelings of people. Just imagine people going to bishop’s house with requests.

 

Parish 1: Dear Bishop, for so many years we had a bad choir (the professional choirs don’t help the church. They show up only if they are paid).  All the priests that you sent to us knew nothing about music and so they take no interest in church choir.  All the other churches have such wonderful choirs except us.  So please send us a musician priest.

Bishop: The parish priest is expected to be a minister of the word of God and the sacraments he is not expected to be a musician.

Parish 2:  Dear Bishop, for so many years we are stuck with court cases.  The church property is in dispute.  Please give us a priest who will take care of the church property and resolve the court cases.

Bishop:  The parish priest is the minister of the word of God and the sacraments.  He is not a landlord or a lawyer to fight the cases.

 

Parish 3: Dear Bishop, our youth have become wayward.  There are so many abuses.  So many youngsters have died in accidents and there are too many teenage pregnancies.  Give us a priest who will guide the youth on the right path. 

Bishop: A parish priest is the minister of the word of God and the sacraments he is not a parent.

 

Parish 4: Dear Bishop, our church is old and it needs repairs.  All the priests who came never bothered to repair it.  Kindly give us a priest who will repair the church.

Bishop:  The priest is the minister of the Word of God and the sacraments he is not a contractor.

 

Parish 5:  Dear Bishop, our former parish priest had lots of weaknesses.  Everyone spoke bad about him.  Give us an ideal parish priest so that the reputation is restored.

Bishop:  The priest is a minister of the Word of God and sacraments.  He is not a superman.

     There could be certain level of disappointment with some of the priests due to varied reasons. Some common reasons expressed by the people are: non availability of the priests, too friendly with the politicians, I don’t care attitude towards the parishioners, proximity towards rich families, infighting with assistant, preoccupation with money, poor homilies, impolite in the parish offices etc. But all the priests cannot be weighed in the same scale. It would be naïve to pass a judgement on their performance without understanding their job.

       The life of a parish priest is indeed tough.  He has to deal with all sorts of people 24x7.  He has to put up with the grumblers, criticizers, lethargic, indifferent, cold, and sarcastic people.  He has to brush his shoulders with the politicians, the goondas, the drunkards and even out of mind people.  He has to face all sorts of problems in the parish.  Whether the problem is spiritual or material, social or political, people want the parish priest to be in the forefront.  Trying to meet this huge expectation from the people parish priests could end up with diabetes and high blood pressure.  Their job is indeed a high pressure job.  Thanks to the promises of God and the tender loving care (TLC) of Marthas and Marys and Lazarus in every parish   the job runs smoothly.

         It is also true that you cannot please everyone.  No matter how honest and faithful and loving a priest is, there will always be criticism. Criticism is not always a bad sign that something is wrong.  People criticize for various reasons. Those who are habituated to criticize usually do without a second thought.  Their mouth works faster than their mind.  Innocent priests in their line of faithful duty must always remember that ‘trees with fruits invite stones’.  

 

TYPES OF PRIESTS AND THE PROBLEMS IN A PARISH: 

-Those who work faithfully without any compromise.  They stick to the rules and regulations and to their personal principles.  They are hated immediately not only by the people but also by their own higher authorities.  People want them to be transferred because they become a thorn in the flesh of those who want to run the show in the parish. Sticking on to principles sometimes could make priests heartless and insensitive. But on the flipside if you don’t keep up the law compromises set in. Once the door of compromise is found to be slightly ajar people take upper hand.

-Those who neglect their duty and get involved in terrible blunders.  In this case it is the priest himself who is responsible.  People too want such priests to be transferred immediately.  Bishop’s house is flooded with such requests for transfer.  It’s a huge headache for the authorities. They don’t know where to transfer him. The only solution is pastoral approach i.e. prayer, understanding, forgiveness and fraternal correction.

-There is a third category of priests who run the show quite smoothly because of their excellent diplomacy.  They know excellently well how to please the higher authorities and the trouble makers in the parish.  They have been pleasers all their life long.  They know to play their game well. Diplomacy is a necessary evil but not at the cost of principles.

-The final category of priests is that of humble and simple.  People are very understanding towards these priests.  There is lot of real joy “feel at home” attitude in the church premises. But such parishes are usually boisterous.

 

There is one more element that calls for the attention of the priests. Allow me to reflect on it through a joke.  Two donkeys were in the field nearby Jerusalem a day after Palm Sunday. One donkey said:

1^st Donkey: "I don't understand it, just yesterday everyone was throwing their clothes and palms on the road when I was carrying Jesus on my back but now I am back to being a nothing. Those people don't even see it's me who was carrying Jesus."

2^nd donkey: "It works like that my brother; without Jesus we are nothing in this world"

          We priests must realize that if at all we have respect from the people it is because we are ‘donkeys’ carrying Jesus.  Without Jesus we are nothing. I remember the hymn “without Him I can do nothing but with Him I can do all things” Let us re phrase it “without Him I have no respect but with Him I have all respect”.

 

Transfers when due are inevitable. It’s not possible to have a priest of people’s dream all the time. Keeping aside bias and prejudice (as Christians) people should joyfully accept whoever comes to their parish in God’s name. Prayers, co-operation, understanding and above all an open mind are powerful ingredients for an awesome ‘dish’ called parish. Wishing the priests and the people a joyful, spirit filled collaboration.