I only found out about Saint Joseph Cafasso the other day. He was a neighbour of St John Bosco and later became his advisor. He received a dispensation to be ordained priest at the age of 22, became a highly regarded Professor and Pastor, combining sound teaching with tireless works of mercy among the poor, those in prison and especially those condemned to death.An eight day retreat that he gave for priests comprised 16 conferences. These are collected in the book "The Priest, the Man of God: his dignity and duties". Having read two of these, I am eager to read the remainder.
In the first conference, he speaks of the nature and office of the priesthood. The idea of the "dignity" of the priesthood is sometimes found confusing today but St Joseph Cafasso analyses the matter sensibly, with practical advice for the priest. He looks at the nature of the priest, the person of the priest and the habits of the priest.
In his nature, the priest is as other men - he is a man, afflicted by original sin, with human needs and weaknesses. The world draws the conclusion that the priest need not be listened to any more than anyone else. The tepid priest draws the conclusion that since he has not ceased to be a man, he is entitled to carry on just as any other man of the world. The good priest draws the conclusion that he must be on his guard, restrain his senses, moderate his appetites, shun dangerous company and use prayer and penance as his weapons for the fight.
In his person, the priest has been raised to a sublime dignity. He should first of all know this in order to avoid degrading the dignity of the priesthood. Then he must uphold this dignity by a virtuous life which is all that matters to him: honours and titles count for nothing.
In his habits, the priest is called to be different from others: this is his calling and he should strive to live up to it. He should abstain from evil and practise virtue more than others - the Fathers of the Church are copiously cited in support of this thesis. If he fails in this, he will become a source of confusion for himself and scandal for the laity.
These are very good counsels for priests and the distinctions he makes are most helpful. The priest is the same as other men, yes - he has his fallen human nature. He is different from other men - he has the character of holy orders. Therefore he ought to live a better, more holy life. He has a duty to do this and people have a right to expect it. It struck me that the words of St Joseph Cafasso are very much in accord with the thesis of the book that I mentioned in May: After Asceticism.
14 comments:
God Bless you Father Tim, what a beautiful piece of writing on your blog. I shall buy the book. Thank you for bringing it to our attention. Your Blogsite is still the Best in the business.
I recently bought from St. Pauls in Westminster 'Come to Me in the Blessed Sacrament' by Fr. Vincent Martin Lucia published by St. Pauls Multimedia, Mumbai,India. It has a forward by Blessed Mother Theresa of Calcutta who heartily endorses it. It is a book which is divided into 8 sections with Psalms and Prayers/Meditations for Blessed Sacrament adoration. It is simply sublime, I have no adjectives that adequately describes how powerful this book is. Tomorrow I am going back to the shop and am going to purchase ALL the books to distribute and shall be ordering many more.
well i was just talking to a Priest such as you describe!You would probably guess who i mean..
Oh & there were a few others too this afternoon who are wonderful,holy Priests.
Sounds very good.
Though I am still quite firmly engrossed by Tanquerrey... (can't remember if it was you or Mac who recommended it, but thank you nevertheless!)
St. Joseph Cafasso ‘the Saint of the Gallows’; what a particularly attractive Saint! St. John Bosco said of him “a single word from him – a look, a smile, his very presence – sufficed to dispel melancholy, drive away temptation, and produce holy resolution in the soul”. There is a good little biography of him in Anne Ball’s book “Modern Saints; their lives and faces”. What he did for prisoners is remarkable. Because of his incredible success rate with criminals I heartily recommend my last hours to his intercession!
Fr. Tim, I thought you might find this particular saint interesting too, seeing as it is his feast day tomorrow (13th Aug): St. Benildus , whom Pope Pius XI referred to as the “Saint of the Daily Grind”. He was around about the same time as St. Joseph Cafasso; unfortunately, though, there isn’t much online, about him; but again, there is a better biography included in Anne Ball’s ‘Modern Saints’. There is an especially pertinent section which could apply to all of us in our particular professions: “Controlling his temper and being a fair and just teacher did not come easy. The boys in his schools often came to the school rowdy and undisciplined. Brother Benildus once mentioned that he felt it was only with the help of the Blessed Virgin that he was able to keep from murdering some of his most unruly students. “I imagine that the angels themselves, if they came down as schoolmasters, would find it hard to control their anger”. How many of us can sympathise with that sentiment?! During life he performed no miracles; had no visions; he performed no extraordinary acts of penance except those enjoined by his religious rule. Like St. Therese most people would say of him “he did nothing very exciting”. He simply performed his daily duty with a great love for God, something which we can all aspire to. St. Benildus ~ ora pro nobis!
Why did he need a dispensation to be ordained? Was there an impediment of some kind?
Anita - he needed a dispensation because he had not reached the "canonical age", set by the Council of Trent as 25 years for priesthood.
Anne and Jason - thank you for those recommendations.
Not another nineteenth-century sacristy saint? Give me St Maximilian Kolbe and St Titus Brandsma any day. Neither were afraid of dirtying their hands.
The cult of St Dominic Savio will be next on the list.
Query: you say the priest 'ought' to live a better, more holy life. How does this reflect on the lay vocation to holiness - ought laity be content with living a lesser, more sinful life? There is an inherent dignity to the priesthood that the laity simply do not have. But does this translate necessarily into an increased holiness, and is the priesthood a more efficacious means to sanctity than living out the lay vocation? Just interested in your thoughts!
Mark said...
"Sounds very good. Though I am still quite firmly engrossed by Tanquerrey... (can't remember if it was you or Mac who recommended it, but thank you nevertheless!)"
... with a splash of tonic and a slice of lime?
Not another nineteenth-century sacristy saint?
You must have missed the bit about his mercy to those in prison. To colour this in a bit: St Joseph Cafasso used to return home from his prison visits crawling with the parasites he had picked up there. He referred to them jocularly as his "living silver and moving riches".
I do also admire St Maximilian Kolbe and St Titus Brandsma. The latter would be a good patron for bloggers. However, neither of them were known to shun the sacristy. St Maximilian's Militia Immaculatae might well feature in due course...
St Dominic Savio? Don't know much about him but it it a thought.
Anonymous query -
ought laity be content with living a lesser, more sinful life?
No, of course not. I think this is a problem with today's mentality of avoiding all comparisons as odious. We can all think of others who, with fewer opportunities or greater obstacles, lead holier lives and this is a spur to us to be more holy, not a reason for others to be less so.
There is an inherent dignity to the priesthood that the laity simply do not have. But does this translate necessarily into an increased holiness,
You answered that yourself by emphasising the word "ought". So no, it does not necessarily translate into increased holiness. The priest has a pressing obligation in this regard but we do not all live up to it.
is the priesthood a more efficacious means to sanctity than living out the lay vocation?
Only if the priest co-operates with the graces he is given. A saintly priest will edify and motivate many people to holiness and he will enjoy glory in heaven with them.
A wicked priest will scandalise many and cause them to lose their faith. They may escape hell because of being misled by him. But he should be concerned for his soul.
Anonymous, the book, the book!
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