Thursday, May 16, 2013

Reflection on the Priesthood and Today's Culture

It seems like there has been a shift in society's view of priests and other clergymen. Hundreds of years ago, the Priesthood was an extremely respectable position. Many intelligent and capable young men took up being a pastor as their trade. This is no longer the case. It's not to say that the Priesthood is not respected; it is still a respectable position, even through society's lenses. However, something about the Priesthood seems separate from the rest of our culture. Something about it just doesn't fit. To an outside viewer, it appears as if the priests have ostracized themselves into a sort of cultural isolation.

Priests are supposed to be separate from the rest of society. They are the brave men who have answered God's call and who have given their lives completely to God. As one priest in the video said, "Being a priest is not natural: it's supernatural." Being a priest is not, per say, normal.

Here is where the Priesthood runs into some issues with today's culture. Even though being a priest is not normal, the pool of men that the Priesthood draws from--every man that has ever lived--is made up of normal guys. Rather than seeing joining the Priesthood as an act of bravery and answering God's call, an average man in today's culture would view it as simply separating himself from the mainstream (with negative implications).

To change this perception of joining the Priesthood, either the Priesthood or society would have to change. The Priesthood cannot just arbitrarily change though, as it was instituted by Christ and only Christ can change it. Until society views priests as normal members of a community, this perception will remain.

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