Catholic Priest: Portraits of Ten Good Men Serving the Church Today

Never before in the history of the Catholic Church has the role of the priest come under greater scrutiny and critique. Even faithful Catholics have fallen under the spells of the dissenters peddling bogus solutions like married clergy, an end to priestly celibacy, and women priests.

Rather than resorting to chapter and verse, Michael S. Rose in his new book Priest: Portraits of Ten Good Men Serving the Church Today communicates the virtuous institution of the priesthood by telling the stories of ten faithful priests who are living examples of holiness, sacrifice, and love of God. In the process, Rose presents an enormously inspiring book that is easy to read and clearly communicates the fact that the Catholic Church is well outfitted with men of courage and conviction.

In contrast to the cackling of the media and dissenters, Rose believes the problem is not with the institution of the priesthood. Rose writes, "the problem is more often than not a failure of young (priests) to hear and faithfully answer their calling; a failure of seminaries and bishops to form and educate their future priests properly; a failure of the ordained to focus on the duties of their state in life; and a failure of the laity to offer the proper spiritual and moral support for their pastoral leaders."

In Priest you will meet Father Albert Lauer, who admits that he "did not receive Gods fullest blessing because I stifled the Holy Spirit in my life." Lauer overcomes this with a devotion to Mary, and goes on to observe miraculous cures, conversions and holiness borne of his humble submission to God as a faithful priest. Father C. John McCloskey III began his priestly career in the pagan wilderness of Princeton University, and is now based in Washington DC. McCloskey is an intellectual giant who puts Christs message into such a compelling form that he has converted hundreds to the faith, including the notorious abortionist Bernard Nathanson. Father Myron Effing has literally rebuilt the Catholic faith in Russia. Father Patrick Rohen served as a chaplain in Desert Storm. Father James Gould built a simple formula for achieving extraordinary vocations in Arlington, Virginia.

One of the most incredible profiles is that of Father William Hinds and his ministry in drug and violence infested Cali, Columbia before taking over as pastor in a small Kentucky parish now well-known for its orthodoxy. Ministering to real people with painfully real problems, and doing so with grace and faith, is portrayed in the story of Father Timothy Vaverek. The story of Father James Mary Sullivan reveals the depth and innovation of the Dominican preaching order. Father Sullivan started Generation Christ to confront the secular Generation X mentality and nourish the spirituality of young Catholics.

Father Paul Berschied founded a side walk counseling group called Helpers of Gods Precious Infants. His story stresses the importance of obedience to God and the teachings of the Catholic Church. "A priest must remain united with the Church regarding her morals and her doctrines," he explains. "A failure in this area is what can begin to lead a priest into a loss of personal identity in terms of who he is and what he is to do. This, then, begins the rather vicious cycle of a priest turning within himself and oftentimes developing personal problems that are more often today referred to as inappropriate behaviors. The life of a priest must be a constant turning outwards, as was the life of Christ in His public ministry. Even when Christ went to pray in private, He was in essence turning out and looking toward the Father. Christ did not go into Himself to find Himself, but rather to His Father, with whom He is one."

Several common themes emerge from these stories that have profound implications on the current crisis in the Church and the difficulties involved for young men trying to determine if God is calling them to the priesthood.

The priests in these stories are holy men, to be sure, but the majority of them came from holy families. Catholicism that is taken seriously in the heart is manifest in the routines of a Catholic home. Its more than just Mass on Sunday and Rosary in the evening, but in the minute to minute and hour to hour interactions that build up holiness in the members of the family. God knows its not easy, especially with children around, but Gods grace is there for all those who ask for it.

If the Church suffers for a lack of priests today, it is probably due more to the fact that the average Catholic family has succumbed to a lifestyle defined by our secular pagan culture rather than by the Catholic faith. The fact that most of the priests in Rose's book came from holy families is no coincidence. As Catholic adults, the first step we can all take to resolving the vocations crisis is to make our own homes incubators of vocations.

We also see from Rose's book that the priesthood is not the problem. Lack of faith and dissent from Church teachings are the problem. In diocese after diocese in the United States, orthodoxy to Catholic teaching is emerging as the primary factor for success in vocations. In those parishes and dioceses where orthodoxy is practiced, the fruits are clearly visible in vibrant Catholic communities where vocations are valued and fostered.

What also becomes clear after reading Priest is that the job requires fortitude, fitness, and mental toughness. Being a good priest, now and the next day, is extremely challenging. Its not a job for wimps, its a job for warriors, but as hard as the work may be, it comes with eternal benefits. This is a timely reminder that the majority of priests are good, holy men, dedicated to God, and to serving their fellow man.

Did anyone watch The Journey Home last night? Grodi's guest was a young Canadian priest, Fr. Eric Nikolai.

Fr. Nikolai had been baptized Lutheran but raised with little or no religious education. His faith journey began when he befriended a fellow student in HS. That young man was a catholic, overburdened with family problems. Each day, they would get together and talk about life in general and at a certain time, the friend would drag him off to mass. This went on for years until one day when they were hitchhiking to the church, 20 miles away, in a remote section of Quebec, a 1 1/2 hour journey on foot each week. It was the middle of winter, bitter cold and Nikolai's feet were frozen. He pleaded with his friend to abandon the trek that day, saying God would understand if he missed one mass. The friend turned to him and said - "Aren't you asking the Guardian Angel?" This was the first Nikolai had ever heard of praying to a guardian angel, and was quite skeptical. The friend assured him that if after praying to the guardian angel, 4 minutes passed without a car passing, they would turn back.

Nikolai, skeptical as he was, begain praying to the "guardian angel". In less than 1 minute, a car pulled up and the driver invited them in. He asked them where he could drop them off and Nikolai's friend simply gave the name of the town. The driver persisted ... where in the town? The friend mumbled the name of the church. The driver repeated the information, looked over at his 8 year old son and said out loud - "I haven't been to church in many years. In fact, I have never even baptized my son." He not only dropped them off, he joined them at the mass.

Once inside the church, Nikolai watched his friend drop down on one knee and bow his head before stepping into the pew. He had seen him genuflect many times before but, on that day, he was so moved by his friend's reverence, that he joined him in the pew and for the first time in all those years, he actually began to pray, himself.

It was such an amazing story of a friendship that lead to a person's faith conversion and ultimately to the priesthood.

Michael Rose, in my estimation anyway, is fast becoming one of the most accomplished Catholic writers today. I thought he was unfairly maligned by other orthodox Catholics for his bombshell "Goodbye, Good Men".

His new book, "Priest", is sort of along the lines of the Surprised By Truth series by Patrick Madrid. However, where it differs obviously is the book chronicles good, faithful, orthodox priests who give us the faith unabashedly.

Overall, well done Michael! I have been buying it and passing it around to some priest friends of mine.

Read Mr. Rose in the New Oxford Review.

Father C. John McCloskey III began his priestly career in the pagan wilderness of Princeton University, and is now based in Washington DC. McCloskey is an intellectual giant who puts Christs message into such a compelling form that he has converted hundreds to the faith, including the notorious abortionist Bernard Nathanson.

Also Lawrence Kudlow and Laura Ingraham. Maybe he can work on Sean Hannity whose Catechesis is woefully lacking.

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