That priest you see, that man smiling on the altar and saying "peace be with you" all day, looking so strong, agile, active and focused... what if I told you he doesn't have it as it seems, that he was thought for years to look his best even in worse situations... They are called priests... I have this attitude of giving that "respect space" to people or professions I admire a lot.
Growing up as a child, I always wanted to be a priest, to be at the forefront of everything, to be given that respect of being called a father to all, well I asked God to do something for me, and if he did I would be a priest... He didn't, I guess it's his way of saying I am not meant to be one...
So I tried to phantom the face behind the mask of smiles and "it's all good" face these priests wear everyday... I discovered there was a great turmoil of tremendous bad waves hitting them at every front but yet they smile and say peace be unto you.... let me break it down for you... I once had a priest in my growing days who was a neighbor to us. He had so many visitors a day that sometimes he comes to my house to steal an hour or two of uninterrupted sleep before he goes back to see people. He always said with a smile, if someone looks for me, tell them I went out, and wake me up after 30minutes of their arrival, well I and my brother always made it 2 hours... He deserved some sleep, please...
This same priest prays every night for every single person who comes to see him with pieces of paper all filled with prayer request... sometimes my mum will wake us up and we would stay awake with the priest in our own house praying for him.. for Gods grace on him... God, he needs it...
They say energy can neither be created nor destroyed... but we take our bad energies to the priest and he takes it from us and carries them all on his shoulders, no wonder they are called father... this priest does marriage counseling, advice couples, solves marital issues, family disputes, siblings disputes, and when he does it all, hears these sad and damaging stories, takes the hate from marriage partners, solves disputes, we all go back home happy to our families, friends, wives, but him, he goes back to an empty house with just a cross, a bed, and a tissue to wipe his midnight tears and most importantly a bible to pray for us... They too need peace of mind.
This same priest neighbor listens to endless confessions, those that one can't even comprehend, sins that the heart cannot phantom, and he still has to ask God to forgive us... He too is human you know... and we come back the next day to confess the same sins and the torture continues... yet every time they smile and say, my son, God forgives you... we feel relieved that we have shared our deepest and darkest secret with someone but guess what... they are not at liberty to share these hunting tales with anyone... so they carry it like a cross wherever they go.... still that one same priest...
Not to talk of the fact that they preach every day, serve mass everywhere, legs always moving, mouth always preaching, tongue always speaking, eyes always open, hands always closed in prayers, stomach always fasting, the heart always pleading and lungs trying to breathe for one more day... that same neighbor priest.
One day, as usual, he came to sleep an hour or two in our house, after blessing us, he touched my forehead and said his usual prayer for me and my brother before he laid down... I murmured, I am sorry.
He looked shocked, for what my son
For the stress we put you through every day, I replied
He said something that made me smile
"If it was by my strength, I would have quit a long time ago..."
Then he fell asleep immediately... today I told my brother... he will sleep for an extra one hour.. funny enough, we let him sleep the whole day, he would continue tomorrow, but today, let the shepherd rest...
God indeed empowers those he calls... please always pray for That priest.
