"We began in bright certainty,
your will was a master plan
Lying open before us.

Sunlight blessed us,
Fields of birds sang for us,
Rainfall was your kindness tangible.

But our dream was flawed;
And we hold it now,
Not in ecstasy but in dogged loyalty,

Waving our tattered flags after the war,
Helping the wounded across the desert."

This is, as you know, Vocations Sunday. Many of us priests could make that poem of Padraig Daly our night prayer, our Nunc Dimittis. It is a difficult time to preach on Vocations to the Priesthood, yet priesthood retains its value. It doesn’t take a genius to recognize that the world has changed and, with it , priesthood has changed. It is understandable that the older men are more acutely affected because they would have joined the priesthood when that sacred office was held in high esteem, held in awe in fact. But there was a down-side. The office of priesthood was locked into the social structures of a rather stagnant, introverted society. The priesthood itself became encrusted in a dark cloak of clericalism. Rules and regulations seemed to mushroom, fertilised by the nature of the structure. There was a series of Maynooth Statutes which regulated the life of the priest. One of these rules decreed that a female couldn't travel in the front seat of a car driven by a priest. The regulation did specify where exactly she should be situated, preferably in the boot, I presume!! It is indicative of the suspicion with which clericalism regarded women. Clericalism as an ideology never trusted clerics or women. It instilled in many clerics a great fear of their own sexuality and, in some cases, a fear of women. Consequently, these men must have lived very lonely lives, unstimulated and unsupported by the wonderfully civilising and stimulating company of women. The priesthood can be, and has been, greatly enhanced by the company of energetic, vibrant and spiritual women, young women who are confident of their own sexuality and their own spirituality. And they have few inhibitions in that regard. They have a very healthy, and very wholesome approach to life. If we allow these women to bring their insights and their wisdom to us, they will redeem us and restore us to integrity. I would identify a certain barren strand in our vision of priesthood heretofore. Padraig Daly has another poem which captures well what I perceive to be this barren experience of priesthood.

The poem is called "Sagart":

In many ways you're like an old man, perhaps
You walk alone more than most people twice your age.
.........
You have many acquaintances, few friends;
Besides your unreplying God you have no confident.
Nevertheless you lift your hat to all. Old ladies
Especially will seek you out, sometimes a sinner.
You are a guest at many celebrations, a must at birth or death.

Sometimes you wonder whether this is how God intended it."

With the changing social structures, this system has all but collapsed. We should shed no tears for its demise. I imagine it crushed many a clerical soul. The recent scandals merely exacerbated the situation. But it is a great mistake to identify the incidentals with the essence of the office of priesthood. For example, I now attribute my own vocation to the DNA factor rather than to any numinous experience of a burning bush, a Lutheran thunderstorm, or a Damascus blinding. I had three uncles priests, and one brother.

By the time I had served three years in the Order, still a young student, I had already concluded that clericalism was a malignant force. I felt this in my bones and I have retained that conviction as strongly as ever to this very day. It had served its day, perhaps.

My own experience of Priesthood has been almost entirely positive. The privileged access we have to the souls of the Christian people is truly humbling. We are invited to accompany people on some awe-inspiring journeys, whether the birth of a child, marriage, life crises, or death. Ironically, on a personal level, I have learned more about life from death than from birth. We are there because we are seen to be making some effort to follow the humble man from Nazareth. We are not there because of our own personalities, or any unique talents or gifts we may have personally. We are there because we are perceived to have learned something from the teachings of Jesus. When people invite us to join them on a journey -especially an excruciatingly difficult journey- their only expectation is that we would remind them (perhaps not in so many words) that their God has walked this path before them. The sooner we priests awake to this central truth of our lives, the sooner will morale be restored. The sooner we leave go of all this clericalism and control stuff, the better for ourselves and, more to the point, the better for the gospel. Our God is bigger than any system. We should have confidence in him and hope for the future.

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