He suffers. Interminably: not for 40 days but indefinitely, like Mother Theresa in her prolonged dark night. He is lonely and afraid of being alone. He suffers mental and emotional disorders. One or many addictions. He is the alcoholic in The Edge of Sadness; he is the whiskey Mexican priest in The Power and the Glory.
<p>He is, apparently, a failure. Humble, compassionate and holy, he nevertheless is a zero in the clerical world. He has achieved nothing. He is the Non-Monsignor. A special type of Maverick Priest. Seemingly low in talent; unable to network effectively; not entirely dependable.
<p> He is the tormented, merciful Javier Bardem priest in Into the Wonder. He is the solitary missionary, played by Gregory Peck, working tirelessly for decades without results in Keys of the Kingdom. He is St. Solanus Casey, the sacerdotus idiotus (idiot priest) considered incompetent for preaching or confession but meekly answering the door of the Friary. He is St. John Vianney sent off to Ars, which today would be a hospital or cemetery assignment.
<p>He is stripped of pride; publicly shamed; entirely deflated in ego. He is an ecclesiastical pariah. He may be accused, but not defended. Guilty by default. He loves the Church but feels utterly rejected.
<p>He has no worldly or churchly support. Finally, his only recourse is into the heart of his Lord, Jesus himself. He is configured to Christ by a second ordination: that of shame, abandonment, emptiness, the agony of Gethsemane and Calvary. But by his wounds we are healed. He is precious, beautiful to us.
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