I recently read a beautiful little book by Father Leo Trese called “Vessel of Clay.” It tells the story of an entire day in the life of a priest – hour by hour – from a priest’s perspective. He describes each apostolic task in a very honest, deeply reflective, humble and sometimes even humorous way. I would highly recommend it to anyone considering a vocation. One of the sections of the book that struck me most was Father Trese’s account of going to visit the sick. While on his way to visit a sick parishioner, he reflects:
“Only with the passing years did I recognize the truth that now seems so obvious – that I am with Christ, that I am Christ, on these calls. He need not be with me sacramentally. Whether I go to administer Holy Communion, or only to give a priestly blessing and a cheerful word of encouragement, I am conscious of the almost physical nearness of my Master. This indeed, I have discovered, is the charity that covers a multitude of sins. Where once I closed my ears to casual reports of illness and suffering, I have learned now the joy of searching them out. It is He who has taught me the pleasure of walking in unexpectedly on an illness that was not deemed serious enough to ‘need’ the priest; it is to Him that I humbly refer the grateful surprise that is mirrored in suffering eyes.”
What a beautiful description of a priest’s ministry to the sick! I remember very distinctly being so moved as a child by the presence of one of our parish priests at the hospital when my mother was battling a brain tumor. It was just as Father Trese says: as if Christ Himself has been there in our moment of trial!
At my parish assignment this past summer, I had the great privilege to be able to visit some of our parishioners in a nursing home and bring Christ to them in the Eucharist every week. It was one of my favorite and most fulfilling things I was able to do. When people are sick, suffering or alone, the visit of a priest (or deacon, in my case) means the world to them, because it reminds them that He who loves them with a love beyond all telling is ALWAYS with them and has not abandoned them in their suffering. There is nothing more humbling and satisfying than Christ making Himself present to His people through us, His “vessels of clay.”
I very much look forward to making visits to the sick one of the top priorities of my ministry as a priest. For anyone discerning a vocation to the priesthood, you have these and so many other beautiful encounters that lie ahead of you!
Transitional Deacon Stephen Robbins, fourth theology, Saint Joseph’s Seminary, Yonkers, N.Y., serves in Saint Damien Parish, Ocean City.
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