Sometimes people have asked me if I ever miss anything about being a priest. ‘Do I miss saying Mass?’ for example. The truth is that I do not miss anything about being a priest, since when I left I moved into a fuller life for myself when I came away and married. It was a step forward into greater life for me, and I have never looked back in any longing way.
However, there are some things that I do miss, two in fact. The first is the privilege of preaching, of being given the floor by people who are prepared to come and listen to you. I always knew this was a privilege and something not to be taken for granted. How many other people in this world are given such a generous gift as the willingness to listen to what you have to say.
When I left, I translated that gift into writing and so continued to have the privilege of speaking the word of the Lord to others as best I could. I also found, in the work of being a mediator, an arena of human conflict in which the honestly spoken word and the attentive listening required of me gave me a new and fresh opportunity in which to let the word of God flourish.
The second thing that I miss, and it really came home to me how precious this is, is the moment at the end of Mass when the priest raises his hand and makes the sign of the cross over the people in blessing. This is a most beautiful and brilliant moment and often passes unnoticed.
Sitting in my own home I would often find myself thinking of people I love, or of concerns that were abroad, or anxieties about health, and I would find myself raising my hand in blessing to make that same sign of the cross. I realised then how important it is to bless people all the time, and how very much I missed that simple yet powerful act of blessing others.
So now I raise my hand to bless people every day. I don’t go about the streets pontificating, you understand, but in the quiet of my home one of my prayer actions each day, when I remember someone or something that concerns people, is to raise my hand once more and to bless them.
You do not have to be a priest to do that. We can all give blessings to others and give them every day. Indeed, there is no greater thing that you can do in your life than to give your blessing to others every day. The sign of the cross is our badge of life. It calls us to be brave and shows us how love is the healer of life.
Brian Fahy
30 April 2018
Erris Poetry 