We are What We Were Created By.

A Selfie with fra Tim

Five of us trekked down to Christ the King parish to see Father Timothy Radcliffe speak.  This parish has a Summer Speaker Series and Father Radcliffe is their July offering.

We've been traveling down, together for the other speakers, also.  We go out to eat at a restaurant down the Cape, where we can pig out on seafood.  We have a very good time.

Tonight was not a disappointment.  Father was very good.  We sat in front; I sat right next to him!  He leaned over to me and asked me to pray for him because he lost the middle of his Talk.  He said he must have left it on his bed, but the middle of his papers is missing.

It seemed fine to me.  I didn't see anything missing.  He talked about how beautiful our human bodies were.  How important the sense of touch was.  When he talked about the eyes; he spoke about his brother in community, Vincent, who was blind, but such a joy to everyone.  The ears and listening were a major point.  Talking involves listening.  We are made in the image of God, and as such, are beautiful.  We are the presence of God.  We carry Him out into our world.

As we rode home, all five of us, squished together.  We joked about our bodies touching each other and how we were relating as Jesus would want us to.

Thank You for All Priests

Last Friday when I went to see Fr. Timothy Radcliffe, O.P. give his talk,( 2009 Speaker Series at Christ the King Parish), there was a question and answer session afterwards. One of the comments made at that time bothered me. The comments more than bothered the pastor of St. Anthony's. He said he almost wanted to go over and fight.


What she said was callous. I'm sure she wasn't thinking. In praising the Dominicans, of whom, Father Timothy belonged, she critized all parish priests. She said she lives in San Francisco, California, and travels about 70 miles to go to church. She does this every Sunday because the Dominicans there preach so wonderfully and seem to energize the community, unlike the parish priests.

As a Lay Dominican, I thank the young lady and appreciate her praise of my brothers, the friars. However, as a Lay Dominican, I also feel that I must speak up ( a la St. Catherine of Siena)and defend the parish priest.

It is not difficult to craft homilies to a particular people, if your parish belongs to the academic community. Many people go to the priory, or monastery, etc., to go to Mass. The people who attend these Masses and travel to these locations are often all of the same mind set. A preacher can really hone in on their particular needs.

As Father Costello of St. Anthony's was telling me, it is hard to hit everyone in his congregation. His parish consists of the world. Tourists from God knows where, locals, old, young, Cape Verdeans, rich, poor...you get the idea, make up his parish. And every one of them wants excellent preaching, every week. They want the perfect prayer for every occasion. They expect the priest to be present when they need him. They want the priest to like what they like, and not like what they don't.

The hardest expectation to live up to is that people want them to be human and be a "party animal" when occasions call for that; yet, people want priests to be just like Jesus.

Instead of critizing the parish priest, people should offer to help, try to be non-judgemental, and assist the priest. If a priest moves you to prayer because he celebrates Mass so wonderfully. Thank God for the blessing of this priest. If you think the priest is boring, then pray for him. Ask St. John Vianney to intercede for blessings to fall on the priest. All priests need us to pray for them.

If you have a chance to see the last speaker in the 2009 Summer Speaker Series, I recommend that you do. Many people attended Father Timothy's and the audience was very welcoming to everyone. The cost is free. What more do you want?

The 2009 Summer Speaker Series is held by the parishes of Christ the King, St. Anthony's, and Our Lady of Victory. The above picture is Fr. Timothy Radcliffe, O.P., with Msgr. Daniel Hoye,the pastor of Christ the King, in the background.