Year of the Priest coming to an end.

Do-over?
Do different, do better. (A)men.

Advent during Year of the Priest and I finally muster some prayers.

By the grace of God and ministry resource software, yesterday's Mass, for which I was scheduled as Lector, was being celebrated by one of my favorite Roman Catholic priests. I like and, more importantly, respect this wise and gentle octogenarian because of his good-humored compassion. Got a big greeting when I walked into the sacristy.

We haven't seen each other for a while and how am I? Disturbed. About what? The Catholic church. A shrug and swift smile. Oh that. Yes, that. What now?

I recite the short list which includes the Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin report, the new abysmal translation of the Roman Missal, the politicization of the Eucharist by some bishops in the United States.

Yes, it's just awful. Embarrassing, really. The hand resting warmly on my shoulder as he speaks reminds me why this is one priest I do respectfully call, "father."

There have been others, like the Catholic priest who told me, "the Church does not ask her people to stay in abusive marriages." And the one who explained, "we learn nothing in seminary about how to run churches." The priest who, from the ambo proclaimed, "Catholics aren't the only Christians." And the visiting missionary who stunned an already uneasy gaggle of parishioners by saying, "Martin Luther got a lot of things right about what's wrong with the Roman church." I will be forever grateful for the priest who confessed during my confession, "no pope...no bishop is going to run me out of my church. You, stay put."

And so, during this Vatican-declared Year of the Priest, I'm finally realizing that I need to pray for these fine Catholic priests and others who:

• entered the priesthood never expecting to encounter such deeply embedded institutional dysfunction.
• were forced out of the priesthood because of their call to marriage or other committed relationship.
• have remained in the priesthood and serve with integrity despite the bad behavior of their confreres.
• speak out against false divisions within the church and welcome all to the table of the Lord.

Three months into Year of the Priest and I'm thinking "late vocations."

Earlier suggestions about how we might productively pray during the Vatican-proclaimed Year of the Priest generated an unprecedented number of comments on this blog.

As ever, I don't know whether to be thrilled or frightened by some of the ire I managed to generate, some of which oozed over onto Deacon Greg Kandra when he had the generous guts to reference my post on The Deacon's Bench. C'est la church vie, I guess.

And although I really am not looking for more trouble, recent news about "A Mother, a Sick Son and His Father, the Priest" has stimulated some new and improved thoughts about how we might pray for the Roman Catholic priesthood this year.

Hey! Let's focus on praying for what are known as "late" or "delayed" vocations! These are commonly defined as candidates who pursue the priesthood between ages 40 and 45. In rare instances, religious orders will consider older candidates.*

In case it's not obvious, my suggestion is anchored in wanting priests to be grounded in realities shared by the people they serve. Call me crazy -- and you wouldn't be the first -- but I believe this would help ensure a more respectable and respected priesthood. I'd like candidates for the priesthood to be adults who have experienced some or all of the following:

• Falling in love and sustaining a relationship beyond limerance.
• Having at least 5 and preferably 10 years of psychotherapy that's both analytic as well as cognitive-behavioral; individual and group.
• Changing jobs and having more than one complete career.
• Being treated as a valued member of a work (not sports) team.
• Reporting to an arbitrary and abusive boss.
• Getting deservedly fired.
• Having transcendently wonderful sex more than once and with another human being.
• Serving as a caregiver for someone who is either physically challenged or terminally ill.
• Applying to receive government financial assistance for self or others.
• Seeing a baby being born in real life (preferably vaginally).
• Financing and making payments on a home.
• Losing everything and starting over.

* Note: "consider" does not mean "accept." Separation of church and state means churches cannot be sued for age discrimination under federal law.

One month into Year of the Priest and I'm thinking "deacons."

If I didn't know any better, I'd credit Pope Benedict XVI with an exquisite sense of irony. But after watching this pontiff stumble through one public relations gaffe after another, I'm thinking the Year of the Priest was declared without much regard for timing. What's that? How was B16 supposed to know back in March that Ireland's version of everyone else's child abuse scandal would explode in May? My WAG at an answer: that investigation had been going on for nine years.

And what's up with calling Roman Catholics to pray for "spiritual perfection in priests"? Rather ambitious, don't you think?

I think we should start with more modest goals. Praying for priests' willingness to work well with lay leadership comes to my mind. Let's pray this for six months and then review our progress. Finding evidence of willingness, we could then devote the remaining six months to praying for their ability to work well with lay leadership -- or with deacons.

Deacons! Why didn't I think of them two paragraphs ago? (Make my own point.)

Why don't we spend what's left of the year praying that priests treat deacons with more gratitude and respect. This should certainly be easier to accomplish than "spiritual perfection."

While it's true deacons may resemble lay leadership, in that some have private sector experience, deacons are ordained. And, they're men. (We could work on the gratitude and respect thing for religious and lay women later. The Roman Catholic church has been ambling along like this for over 2,000 years, so what's the rush?)

Speaking of irony, I must note that I'm writing this within hours of suggesting (via Twitter) that everyone in Christendom read the editorial, "Community of Disciples" in America magazine. In that fine piece, we are called to stop all rhetoric that is "harsh and often lacking in respect or courtesy."

LordJesusChristHaveMercyonMeaSinnerAmenHailMaryFullofGrace... That ought to do it.