A funny rant by a Catholic priest about the foibles of congregants:
Weddings:
1.When you call up to schedule your wedding, don't act all indignant when I ask who the hell you are, since you haven't been to church since your first communion.
2. And don't get in a little nuptial huff when I tell you can't throw rice, birdseed, confetti or any of that crap. Would you want to have to clean up a big mess of that junk from your house every Saturday afternoon? I didn't think so.
3.And do that damn paperwork, get all your certificates in. You'll be really glad you did should the day come when you have to get un-married.
4. Please get some control over your mothers. Your own outrageous demands are bad enough.
5. Have some pity on your poor priest, who has to put up with your ruse that you don't live together, your rude tardiness to your rehearsal, your showing up half-drunk, and the tasteless fashion decisions you make for your wedding party.
6. Oh, and if your forget to get a marriage license, it's not my problem. It's your marriage.
Mild language warning. HT: Anchoress
Friday, January 25, 2008
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9 comments:
If this is really written by a priest then he should find a backbone and resign from the priesthood. That way he wouldn't have to be bothered with the foibles of sinners and saints.
Why, Earl? Aren't pastors/priests/ministers allowed to get frustrated at some of the inane, rude, and insensitive things that parishioners can do?
Frustration is not wrong. But for anyone, pastor or layman to post such a rant is wrong. To post such rant anonymously is simply verbal vandalism akin to spraying graffiti onto the side of a car that is illegally parked in a handicapped section.
Earl...
I'm the one who posted it originally, at my blog, and The Anchoress picked it up.
I was wondering what reaction it might get.
Virtually all the people I heard from were positive; they either thought it was hilarious, or considered the priest a hero and wished there were more like him, to tell it like it is. I know a lot of priests who share his sentiment.
Blessings,
Deacon Greg Kandra
Yeah, I just don't see how the priest crossed any lines.
Perhaps you could be a little specific, Earl. What parts of the rant bother you, and why?
That such a posting would be considered humorous is not surprising. As humor this or a similar routine would not be unexpected if heard on Comedy Central or the Blue Collar Comedy Tour.
That a minister would experience frustration is not surprising. Frustration in the ministry and even angry rants are as old as Moses and Jeremiah. God did not praise but rebuked these men for their loss of self-control. It requires a real leap of the imagination to conclude that God would now applaud such conduct.
The overall tone of this particular posting is at a minimum unkind and harsh. The use of such crude and profane language by a minister of the Gospel is simply inappropriate. That it would be considered humorous is a sad commentary on what some might think to be appropriate to the character of a minister of the Gospel.
Remarkably when one follows the link "funny rant" and reads the post in its entirety you can not help but notice the following paragraph:
"If you choose to leave a comment, the ground rules are simple: no slander, profanity, racism, sexism or name-calling. Violators will be deleted. I reserve the right to moderate comments, if necessary, or even shut them down. The guiding principle should be: WWJB? "What Would Jesus Blog?"
Apparently the posted rant would not seem to be in line with the above quoted expectations for comments to that site.
There's no "loss of self-control" in pointing out the actual abusive and unethical behavior of Christians. In fact, that's exactly what pastors are supposed to do.
At least, I want a pastor who is more than a milquetoast lump of pudding who tries to please everyone at the expense of the Gospel.
Jesus wasn't afraid of offending people, and neither should pastors.
There is no Biblical basis to assert that this anonymous rant is in any way an appropriate corrective to unethical behavior. According to the Apostle Paul a higher standard of conduct is expected of believers as well as those who have responsibility for pastoral leadership (Colossians 3:1-4:6; I Timothy 5:1-2.
When Jesus rebuked someone he did not do it behind their back but to their face and he did not use profanity. Against the backdrop of Martin Luther's famous posting, this rant anonymously posted to an open forum demonstrates no measure of courage. In its caustic tone and crude vocabulary it is much like similar often anonymous postings so often found scribbled on the walls of bathroom stalls.
It takes no courage to anonymously vent ones frustration by posting a rant. Further this rant offers nothing more than questionable humor. For this pastor a more constructive approach would be to visit with his members in their homes. There he would have the opportunity to build meaningful relationships. There he would be able to begin to earn the right and authority to speak to them about their sinfulness. Of course in the privacy of the home these members would also have the opportunity to respond to their pastor with their own views. If the pastor was not interested in building a dialog, such response might be problematic.
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