tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33812968.post116541138814430785..comments2024-01-30T07:59:09.944-08:00Comments on John One Five: Priest and FriendFather Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17004694236214886414noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33812968.post-10618730318088940002007-02-28T04:46:00.000-08:002007-02-28T04:46:00.000-08:00Nice post..I liked the way u have defined a friend...Nice post..I liked the way u have defined a friendship between human and religion....really nice post!! u can check out my blog too for some exciting stuffs on friendship :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33812968.post-1165506428560391122006-12-07T07:47:00.000-08:002006-12-07T07:47:00.000-08:00I'm still musing on many of the same things - tho'...I'm still musing on many of the same things - tho' not in quite the same way - but this is helpful and encouraging. What I am pondering is how far the vocation - which leads us through surprises to discover who we really are, and therefore makes us more human - is not a matter that requires the externalities to be evident, and the externalities can get in the way (they can be helpful, yes, but I have come to believe that they are prone to distract and obscure precisely that humanity which is at the heart of the vocation).<BR/><BR/>What I mean is that when I am most relaxed, with friends who have known me for a long time (some of whom knew me when I was militantly anti-Christian!) the priestly side of me cannot but emerge, and even those non-Christian friends recognise it and affirm it. When I am most truly myself, then I am being the priest God calls me to be. The separating out, the exercise of Christian leadership - all these things God will accomplish, and being ourselves - in a non-trivial sense - is how it works.<BR/><BR/>I suspect that the one giving you that advice had a distorted idea of what friendship was about - becoming 'one of the lads' is a motivation rooted in fear, rather than self-acceptance. (Which is the issue I still struggle with).<BR/><BR/>BTW have you come across 'Touching the Face of God' by Donna Tiernan Mahoney? It touches on all this. You might find it theologically thin, but it is useful all the same.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33812968.post-1165467501049225252006-12-06T20:58:00.000-08:002006-12-06T20:58:00.000-08:00Hi Fr. David, this is Charity Anderson. I just re...Hi Fr. David, this is Charity Anderson. I just read your blog for the first time tonight (I am not much of a blog-reader) and really enjoyed this post. On the note of favorites, I have long wondered in what sense John was Jesus' "favorite." Just a few weeks ago someone suggested to me that Jesus actually loved everyone to the same degree, but that what set John apart is that he accepted or understood that love more than the others. I would be interested to hear your thoughts on this suggestion. Thanks for being a priest and friend. CharityAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33812968.post-1165420340826849402006-12-06T07:52:00.000-08:002006-12-06T07:52:00.000-08:00Haha, thank you, Father. And you're welcome. I enj...Haha, thank you, Father. And you're welcome. I enjoyed this post. For me and many of my peers who are trying to move away from the "clerical professionalism" of the Christian denominations and engage as men who are also (or would be) <I>priests</I>, these are very encouraging reflections. Leadership in the Christian community ought not by its nature be as intensely isolating as some would have me believe, and it's good to hear otherwise. <BR/><BR/>BlessingsKylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14641068117855718120noreply@blogger.com