A Priest‘s Second Conversion

FATHER DONALD HAGGERTY 

Conversion 

Spiritual Insights into an Essential Encounter with God. 

IGNATIUS PRESS    SAN FRANCISCO. 2017. Kindle Edition. 

After reading Fr Haggerty‘s book Contemplative Provocations  and  being very much impressed by Father’s insights into the nature of contemplation and its key role in our life of faith, I picked out this book of his and cannot say I am disappointed even though much less enthused than by CP, perhaps because of what he writes concerning the role of the Eucharist in the life of a Christian and per force in the life of a priest. For the community of the Church, the key importance of the priest as a recollected and reverent celebrant of the Eucharist in stirring up faith in the true Presence of Jesus Lord and Savior in the Sacrament of the Altar goes without saying. The priest’s holy hour daily before Christ in the Tabernacle can certainly be held a sine qua non for unleashing that powerful presence within the community entrusted to the priest’s pastoral care. Nonetheless, I would say that Father Haggerty's position on the importance of the priest's private prayer life falls short of describing the prerequisites of reverence in public prayer. The author remains silent on the issue of the scandal of the rupture in our tradition of divine worship, which must be firmly anchored in solid traditional catechesis and personal prayer following approved traditional models (viz. the Holy Rosary). He makes no mention of the ineluctable role which a liturgical restoration must play in an overall renewal of Catholic life for today and tomorrow. 

I will take nothing away from this book, which reminds us all of what we are talking about in terms of the universal call to holiness and the way of perfection proper to the consecrated or vowed life, and most especially of what constitutes sanctity in the life and mission of those set apart by the Sacrament of Holy Orders. I recommend the book for many reasons.

One of the surprises contained therein is perhaps the most insightful treatment I have found to date of what constitutes the present crisis of the priesthood. Fr. Haggerty quotes Dorothy Day:

"Dorothy Day was asked in 1949 by a group of Maryknoll seminarians on a visit to her Catholic Worker house for the poor in the Lower East Side in New York what she considered the gravest problem facing the Church in America. Her answer was the bourgeois materialism of the clergy, which she said would collapse the love and respect of American Catholics for their priests. And surely that was a time of much less clerical privilege in material comforts. But truths do not change, including practical truths. The reluctance of priests to adopt a poorer life-style is still a reason why priests do not inspire greater respect, even from Catholics strong in faith and disposed to accept the humanity of their priests." (FATHER DONALD HAGGERTY Conversion Spiritual Insights into an Essential Encounter with God IGNATIUS PRESS . SAN FRANCISCO. 2017. Kindle edition)

Perhaps if we were able to hold the accusation of "bourgeois materialism" under the nose of the clergy instead of harping about clericalism, we might have more success touching priestly hearts and lives, thus calling them to conversion. In 1949, priests still did not receive a salary in the United States, but lived a bit like the ox not muzzled while treading out the grain. Dorothy, no doubt, knew that a goodly part of the clergy lived poor and generous, despite the excesses of the chosen few. The famously generous "Christmas collection" of old, which even in my first years of priesthood (1976) still belonged to the pastor and worked as an incentive for some priests to aspire to big, demanding and generally wealthy parishes, bought more than one big Mercedes back in those days and saw to it that dining room sets were changed at regular intervals and Persian carpets were not lacking. I remember an Italian story of a grand old man, who entertained his young associates by correctly guessing the brand and vintage year of unmarked glasses of champagne. Yes, bourgeois materialism!

Father Haggerty tags that second conversion in the life of a priest as the one which makes all the difference. He has much to say about its varied aspects, above all about the pastoral poverty and profound love of the poor which it should call forth. If only he could have framed his discourse in the context of a renewal based on a restoration of the Church life and liturgy which went lost after the Council. This is not "Bells of Saint Mary's" or "Going My Way" nostalgia, but a clear understanding of reverential fear in the Presence of the Almighty.

COVID-19 and the lock down have no doubt served many good Catholic families well in challenging them to live family prayer. In my second Lenten Season, Holy Week and Easter of praying the old breviary, I feel particularly blessed with its "ruminating" approach to the Scriptures and the mysteries celebrated. I don't lose much time over "spilled milk" but cannot help but wonder how older priests back in the 1970's suffered the deprivation of such a treasure.

As I say, Fr. Haggerty does not disappoint, but as important as the Holy Hour is to drawing close to the Lord, there are some other prayer anchors which could enrich the life of a priest and help him lead his people to that essential encounter with God.

PROPERANTES ADVENTUM DIEI DEI