In the Vineyard

* Note: This was part of a blog I wrote for the Archdiocese of Baltimore in 2008 *

            I have been mulling a lot over the difference between the lay and clerical states. I guess it kind of came up in our area clergy meeting, where some people were praising the roles of lay ecclesial ministers. And truly, their role is an important one and the Church could not function without them. But it made me start to think, gee, if I can have such a happy, satisfied life serving the Church as a layman (without those “burdensome” promises of chastity and obedience), why wouldn’t I choose that over being a priest?

            So this got me thinking. What is it, exactly, about the clerical state that differentiates one from the laity? I came up with three things:

 

            First, we are an eschatological sign. Or, to put it in simpler terms, we point to eternity. In fact, we point, not only to eternity, but to Christ.

            Our director of adult faith formation was commenting one time at a staff meeting that she was frustrated how she often stands outside of Mass to greet people along with the priests. Many people would pass right by her and go to greet the priests instead.

            Well, we should greet EVERYONE in Church, but this example showed me something profound. They didn’t greet us because we were better, smarter, more proficient, more kind, for I know many lay ministers who are far better, smarter, more talented and more charitable than I am. But rather, they came to us priests (and wanna-be’s) because to them we represented something more than ourselves – we stood for Christ. We pointed to a heavenly reality in a way that a lay minister can’t. Simply because we have consecrated ourselves to Christ, we stand for Him and reflect Him in a unique way, however imperfectly.

 

            Which brings me to my second discovery, the idea of being consecrated to Christ. Lay people are Christian ministers with 9-5 jobs (of course, any youth minister could tell you that the hours are slightly more crazy than that…). But a priest is someone who is 24/7 a minister.

            One time a priest invited me to go with him to someone’s house, but he said, “You don’t have to come if you don’t want to, if you don’t want to be ‘on’ for the evening.” I thought this was ludicrous – my consecration to Christ and my Christian witness is hopefully not something that I can turn ‘on’ or ‘off’. Rather, it should be something that permeates my entire being and is reflected in every aspect of my life. I cannot “go home” like lay ministers can – when they go home, they are no longer “the youth minister” or “the DRE”. But priests are always priests – at home and away, on vacation, with their family, and with their parish.

            Now, this aspect I definitely live imperfectly. It’s tough to have that integration, to be ALWAYS a Christian, even in traffic and standing at the checkout counter (two places where I struggle to practice charity!). But I still believe that it is an ideal to live up to.

 

            Because of the consecration to Christ, the third aspect necessarily follows: we are consecrated to His Bride, the Church, in a unique and special way. When parish events conflict with family obligations, many lay ministers have the freedom to choose their families over their job. But we have no such luxury. Our new family is the Church – our parish. This isn’t to say that we don’t have time with our families or that we can’t take a vacation, but in a very real way we have the duty and privilege to be there for our parishioners.

            And this is not true with lay ministers. For married lay ministers, their first obligation is their spouse and family. Even for single lay ministers, they have other obligations that take up their time. We, however, are to live and die for our parishioners. This, I think, is why “Co-Workers In the Vineyard” (the USCCB document on lay ecclesial ministry) speaks of priests as being the ones to whom “ministry” is properly applied. All lay ministry is delegated from and dependent upon priestly ministry, because the priest is in a special way wedded to his parish, as a father is responsible for his children in a unique way.

 

            Anyway, these are a few of my musings. Through this meditation I have come to realize deeper the calling to the priesthood – it is much more than mere functionality – it is a call to become completely consecrated to Christ and poured out in ministry to His Church. How awesome this life is!