Persona Christi

Here is a beautiful poem my brother wrote for all consecrated priests; it's called 'Persona Christi' and he was inspired to write it after hearing all the insults & criticisms that Catholics hurl at Priests, and especially the Pope.



Remembers...all our Catholic Priests are Christ to us.






Not the gift of service,
Not that of his life,
His chastity and abandonment (thrice).
Not his smiles, not his sighs,
Not the tears in his eyes,
Can transform his judges
Away from their lives.

By actions far demeaned
He represents that altar's scene-
He strives, denies himself and suffers dismay,
He loves and loves more each day,
Humbled by obdurate vice
He offers sacrifice in this way
with upturned eyes-His Father who sits on high

CRIES out to his son
Abused and ignored,
Once a sage, not restored
For the works he has done
In a world torn to its core.

All implore judges
Transform their lives,
And realise God's joyous decree,
That there resides behind priestly disguise
The mighty Son, Persona Christi.






His commentary to me in an email:



My point in the end sentence and throughout is that this priest IS Christ, he IS persona Christi; how many people forget this.



And yet if they did remove his disguise how blinded they would be to realise the one who they have been calling boring, uninspiring and who they have been criticising is in fact Christ.



It is our job to 'remove his disguise' so to speak and remind people he is persona Christi.



So I wanted to write it in such a way that a person thinks I am referring to Jesus but would discover at the end that there is much more to it: our priests are Jesus to us.







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On a related note; another piece of inspiring work from my brother from last December 2005:






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