"I Will Come Myself"

by Dr. Janet Smith

Tuesday, November 24, 2009 at 11:50am

Dr. Janet Smith holds the Father Michael J. McGivney Chair of Life Ethics at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit. She publishes widely on the Church’s teaching on marriage and sexuality and on bioethical issues
A priest is ordained into “the order of Melchizedek” and thus will be a priest for eternity; some seem to have been priests from eternity, they so deeply believe in the truths of the faith and so selflessly live for others. Fr. Kevin Scallon is such a priest; he is priest through and through and always manifests the absorbing delight he experiences in his priesthood.

One of Fr. Kevin’s special apostolates is the “Intercession for Priests” Retreat. Twice I have spoken for the “Intercession” and have been very moved by the loving care Fr. Kevin provides for all who attend. Every August for decades he has been holding a month-long series of talks and retreats in Dublin for priests. You can imagine how harried the good priests of Ireland are in the wake of the terrible sex abuse scandals that have occurred there! Many good priests are truly experiencing the crucifixion through their sympathy with victims and through the hatred and rejection directed to themselves.

Fr. Kevin tries to restore and deepen priests’ enthusiasm for their priesthood. To that end, he has written I Will Come Myself: Experiencing the Risen Priesthood. The title discloses the central insight that Fr. Kevin has into the nature of the priesthood. The phrase comes from the Gospel story featuring a centurion who asks Christ to come heal his servant and Christ offers to “come myself and cure him.” Christ wants to be among us and he established his priesthood as one of the primary ways that he continues to be among us. When Christ said that his kingdom was not of this world, he did not mean that he abandoned this world; rather, he meant that he was not establishing the expected kingdom of a ruler who dominated the earth through political power. He established his kingdom by coming to dwell in the hearts of his faithful, who would be his eyes, hands and heart in this world. Fr. Kevin’s narrative makes it clear that the priest has a privileged way of living out that reality.

Fr. Kevin grew into his priesthood. He tells very engaging stories of his interactions with others that revealed to him the nature of his priesthood. Much like the parables of the Gospel, these stories have a staying power; he tells them so simply and guilelessly that they provide lovely insights into the love that Christ has for his people and how he demonstrates that love through the ordained priesthood.
I found particularly moving Fr. Kevin’s story of a saintly 11-year-old catechist who had memorized the catechism and was able to prepare a whole village for reception of the sacraments.

On another occasion, upon supplying a leper colony with blankets, food and medical care, Fr. Kevin was disappointed in the lukewarm reception of his generosity. The fact that the lepers manifested touching and heartfelt gratitude when he returned the next day to say Mass, revealed to him that the presence of Christ in the Eucharist and in the priest was incredibly more meaningful to them than having their physical needs met.

Fr. Kevin, along with Sister Briege McKenna (the “healing nun,” author of Miracles Do Happen!), has a healing ministry. Together they travel the world and routinely witness miraculous cures. While healings from terrible physical maladies are always very impressive and moving, more impressive and more moving are the healings from sin and resentment. Fr. Kevin tells of a wealthy man who on his deathbed was filled with hatred for his family who cared for him only because of his wealth. His reception of the Sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist filled him with a serenity that he had not known his whole adult life.

Fr. Kevin’s relationship with a girl named Mary spectacularly shows how the priest is truly a father. Mary was a girl abused and abandoned by her family, sickly, alone, and desolate. Because of a few kind words from Fr. Kevin, she became very attached to him. Embarrassed by the effect of her illness on her appearance, she refused to allow Fr. Kevin to visit her but kept up communication by phone and letter. She experienced enormous healing from his loving concern and he was graced to experience the joy of having a daughter who grew beautifully because of his love.

Fr. Kevin’s story of his priesthood should be especially valuable for priests who may be waning in their enthusiasm for their priesthood and perhaps demoralized by a sense that they are not seeing the results they would like to see from their efforts; his book may give them eyes to see that their presence in the lives of people has results not measurable by standard means but that are immeasurably valuable.