There are only three that I would give a star in the Priestly Hall of Fame - my list is short and brutal! Fr. Paul Duplessis (a Capuchin from St Philip Neri and chaplain to the French Language school my children attended), Fr Bernie Wilson (a late vocation as it was termed, at the Transfiguration Charismatic Prayer Group I attended with my older sister), and Fr Mongillo (a Dominican priest associated with the Catechises of the Good Shepherd and who won his place in my heart by calling my mother 'Mummy' when he visited us from Rome). Honourable mention would go to Fr Bud Cullen ( a Basilian and childhood friend of my father), Fr Paul Brennan (who valiantly tried to buck the tide), and Fr Hogan (former pastor at Our Lady of Sorrows and extremely popular with the school yard crowd) Oh, and I should throw in Bishop Allen - his redeeming quality was having great hair - silver and plentiful - and being nice to my younger sister when she was working part time at the rectory of Our Lady of Sorrows - he gets special mention for not being mean to her!
The rest were products of their upbringing and training at the seminaries of the time! One pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows would regularly call up parishioners to ask what they were having for dinner and invite himself if the menu was to his taste. This same priest embarrassed me beyond belief when I introduced my mother-in-law and her sister to him after mass one Sunday, by saying to me 'and you are?'. I had attended mass regularly at this church for over 25 years! Thank you very much (Oh my head is so big I can barely fit through the nave) Father!
My sister told me once that priests were merely sheep that had gone around in front of the altar - she denies it now and says I misunderstood what she was trying to say - but I took it the way I wanted. If we are all 'sheep' in the kingdom, we are all worthy to be behind the altar - female or not!
I remember overhearing one of the associate pastors of our church describe listening to children's confessions as "being pummeled with marshmallows".
ReplyDeleteAnd I remember helping my older sister when she subbed for the cook who was on vacation. When we arrived at the rectory,two timid adolescent girls, Bishop Allen answered the door, in a SHIRT, and he said, "Oh, it's the guardian angels." I loved him for that--and his gorgeous wavy silver hair!