In Defense of Jesuits

   

   We all have our bad days. For me it was a confession that turned super awkward when I asked the Jesuit priest to enroll me in the brown scapular. He said he didn’t know the prayers. I had the prayers there on hand but instead of telling him that I panicked and just acted like I didn’t. I practically tripped over myself leaving. Then vented to my mom and somehow tried to make the priest the bad guy to cover for my embarrassment. Then I ended up in a conversation with a “friend” who is a huge Latin mass fan. She made me feel validated… But the only reason she actually disliked this priest was cause he was a Jesuit… Boy did that make me feel like an ass. That was the moment I realized I really wasn’t being fair and clearly other people in the parish were not being fair. Which just made me feel even worse.

   Jesuits, similar to nuns, get a bum deal. They dedicate their entire lives to the church, to the service of us the faithful, and they take a vow of poverty for life. An yet apparently that’s not enough for them to be given respect. People constantly complain that Jesuits are too liberal. There was another liberal people didn’t quite appreciate during his time. That guy’s name was Jesus. Jesus preached about healing the sick even on the Sabbath, befriending sinners, and He was more inclined to get to the heart of the matter. Jesus didn’t care how much you prayed or how perfect you deemed yourself to be. He cared about your heart and your intentions. Are you looking for a pat on the back or are you genuinely just trying to be the best you, you can be?

   Jesuits are open to knowledge because they know with knowledge comes more opportunities to help people. How can you help what you don’t understand? You can’t. Jesuits humble themselves to the status of the poor by their own free will, enduring the struggles of millions of human beings. Isn’t that what Jesus did? He did ride a donkey-not a stallion-after all. Jesuits are some of the best listeners, they hear the message behind the words and the pain within. They sit with those in the dark and wait for them to come out in their own time-when they’re good and ready.

   When I entered confession one day to confess the sin of drug addiction. The Jesuit priest didn’t gasp, didn’t go silent, he didn’t judge me at all. He responded without hesitation as if I had confessed to any other sin. As I left he told me to take good care of myself. He’s always ready to have an enlightening conversation about theology and I’m pretty sure he’d go on all day if he could. He never leaves me with just a penance, he inquires about life circumstances and advises me on how to make myself better. My confession typically involves very depressing sins such as self loathing and thoughts of suicide. When I make these confessions he always advises me on how to come out of the darkness. He doesn’t leave me floundering. He wants to help and I can see that. I know that.

   Some people at my parish have already made up their minds about him. Not because they got to know him, but because of the S.J. after his name. They don’t care that his homilies are always perfect. That they always stress compassion and mercy And that’s very different from a recent priest (recently ordained) who got to give his second homily at this church in his life and decided to preach of punishment and a spiritual war. That priest’s speech came off very angry and frankly extreme. That was the Sunday following the Charlie Kirk shooting. I remember not even being able to feel reverent during that mass. After such a hard and draining week I would’ve appreciated a more kind and uniting homily. Something healing. God knows we needed it.

   Most priests when they take the stand don’t necessarily address the individuals so much as the entire congregation, but you could see this Jesuit priest making an actual effort to make eye contact with each individual. To make a personal connection. I remember when he gave a homily all about Pope Francis. The examples he chose spoke to his humility. He mentioned how Pope Francis kissed a man on the head who had severe physical deformities so much so that many people wouldn’t even look at him let alone touch him. Yet Pope Francis did so without even hesitating. You could see how much he admired Pope Francis’ genuine love for the marginalized and how much he worked to emulate it. You could hear his passion and joy in his voice. That’s one of the things I think is very unique about him. That’s not to say that our other priest there-our Monsignor- isn’t amazing in his own way. I mean he has a photographic memory for crying out loud. I can’t beat that.

   God says, “judge not lest ye be judged,” An yet sometimes it’s often his own people who are the most judgmental of them all. Maybe you don’t always find the Jesuit approach to be within your preferences. That’s fine, but I think we all still owe them a lot more respect than they are given. They make the same sacrifice every other priest makes and more. They’ve devoted their whole life to this church. They are highly motivated and work with a burning passion. They have more than earned our respect. If when you see an S.J. after a priests name you think, “no way,” then perhaps you need to remind yourself what it truly means to be a Catholic and the sacrifices they have made that you will not. 

   That’s not to say you should feel guilty for not making those sacrifices. But it’s kind of like shaming a soldier when he comes back from war because he didn’t fight to your liking. Pretty petty right? In fact that’s exactly what happened after Vietnam. They gave their all, they followed their orders, yet when they returned home to the USA they were not appreciated. The people who shamed them weren’t even there. Sounds pretty arrogant don’t you think? Be grateful for every priest, even the ones that still have some growing and learning to do. They all became a priest for the same reason-to support the church and its people.