Fishers of Men

There is beauty in the priesthood. And the Catholic priesthood has become increasingly attractive to me in recent years. Who would have thought that a fervent anti-Catholic teenager like me would one day grow up to become deeply sympathetic towards Catholicism and view the priesthood and anyone who answers the call to priesthood with great respect.

During my solo traversings across various cities and countries in recent years, popping into a Catholic cathedral or a church in whichever city, town or village I’m in has almost become part and parcel of the itinerary.

Perhaps it’s for a bit of connection and solidarity whilst being on the road. There is something indescribable about that feeling of connection with a fellow pilgrim – when your body is weary and your soul could do with a bit of connection to another human being whom you know “has also been there” – whatever we imagine those crosses to be, I guess.

I remember being deeply moved when this Dominican brother in a far-flung Western province of the Solomon Islands gave me some of his precious time and some much-needed words of encouragement before I left the tiny island he was on. I had stumbled across the Dominican Order which was located on this tiny island off Gizo by accident – or perhaps by divine appointment – when I loitered around the town’s humble Catholic cathedral and got talking to a local who happened to be heading back to the island.

I remember debating with myself whether it was worth going out of my way just to visit this mission (St Louis Mission) outside of Noumea, supposedly the site of the oldest Catholic church (built 1859) in New Caledonia, when there was no guarantee I would meet anyone, let alone be welcomed.

But I was deeply humbled when I did arrive at the mission after trekking down this dusty road off from the main road where the bus driver had kindly dropped me off. The mission looked deserted, but as with all Catholic churches, the church itself was always open for me to wander in. I eventually bumped into someone at the mission who went off to tell the Father in charge that someone had wandered into the mission. I wasn’t quite sure what I was say to him but instead found myself being welcomed earnestly by the Father there and was also impressed upon - as perplexing and difficult as it was for me to try and comprehend - the certainty of vocation felt by the Fijian priest and the Vanuatan priest-to-be I later also met at the mission.

When I went and saw ‘Eighteen’ at the Melbourne Queer Film Festival last month - a film about an 18-year-old street kid who befriends a gay hustler and a Catholic priest among other things - I had prepared myself for the possible negative portrayal of Catholic priests (and especially in a queer film) in light of the numerous child sexual scandals that have rocked the Catholic Church in the Western world. Instead, the filmmaker moved me with the portrayal of the Catholic priest as a man of integrity. When Father Chris finds himself confronted by a scantily covered Pip - the 18-year-old street kid whom he’d just invited to his place for a wash and some food to eat – Father Chris looks at him in the eye and warns him, “I do not like being tested” and then walks off promptly leaving Pip on his own, just like Joseph did to the Pharoah’s wife. It encouraged me to see that the priesthood or the priest was still being portrayed in such a light – and even in a queer film - at a time when many people are highly cynical of the priesthood.

Priests are individuals who have given their lives wholly to the service of God. And Pope Benedict XVI once said about being a priest, and about being fishers of men, “There is nothing more beautiful than to be surprised by the Gospel, by the encounter with Christ. There is nothing more beautiful than to know Him and to speak to others of our friendship with Him. The task of the shepherd, the task of the fisher of men, can often seem wearisome. But it is beautiful and wonderful,because it is truly a service to joy, to God’s joy which longs to break into the world.”

The US Conference of Catholic Bishops has recently released a short but powerful promotional film clip 'Fishers of Men' to attract men to the priesthood. And like another blogger DREADNOUGHT (John Heard), I too think it’s an absolute winner.

If the YouTube video clip above does not work, click here and then click on the 'Fishers of Men' trailer.