From Fr. Gordon MacRae:
“I’m serving a sentence of 67 years when I could have left prison in less than three.” Barring some intervention, I will leave prison at age 108 for standing by the truth when I could have left at age 44 had I been willing to lie.”
"It is a truth of which I no longer have any doubt: This life and this priesthood are not all about me. It is not about my happiness, my security, my hopes, or my dreams. It is about God’s own plan for truth, sacrifice, and “justice, justice, justice,” and I am but an instrument in that plan."
"There is no score in this symphony I can write that is in any way distinctive. I play not a single note of suffering, sacrifice, and surrender that has not been played before and will not be played again. And if it follows that I would not be in prison today if I was not a priest – and I believe it does – then this imprisonment is not all about me either."
"... Yes, I would still be a priest – God help me! – and no, I would never, ever take the deal. Not ever."
"It is a truth of which I no longer have any doubt: This life and this priesthood are not all about me. It is not about my happiness, my security, my hopes, or my dreams. It is about God’s own plan for truth, sacrifice, and “justice, justice, justice,” and I am but an instrument in that plan."
"There is no score in this symphony I can write that is in any way distinctive. I play not a single note of suffering, sacrifice, and surrender that has not been played before and will not be played again. And if it follows that I would not be in prison today if I was not a priest – and I believe it does – then this imprisonment is not all about me either."
"... Yes, I would still be a priest – God help me! – and no, I would never, ever take the deal. Not ever."
"We live in a culture in which terms like “commitment,” “sacrifice,” and “truth” are seen by many as malleable concepts. This certainly isn’t so for Father Joseph Coffey, a U.S. Navy chaplain serving the spiritual needs of thousands of Marine, Army, and NATO forces in Afghanistan."
"Father Joseph Coffey is courageously living the sacrifice of priesthood. In his letter, he asked for prayers for the Marines and others under his care. 'I’ll keep doing my best,' he wrote."
"Father Joseph Coffey is courageously living the sacrifice of priesthood. In his letter, he asked for prayers for the Marines and others under his care. 'I’ll keep doing my best,' he wrote."
"Father Joe Coffey has asked for my prayers, and I sacrifice a day in prison each week for him and for those he comes in contact with each day whether American, British or Afghani. Whenever I am tempted to let the bitterness of captivity be the sole measure of my life and priesthood, I think of Father Joe. I have never even met this man, and yet through These Stone Walls our lives and our priesthood are inexplicably linked. God help me if I shirk that duty of prayer and sacrifice."
~ Read Fr. MacRae's entire blog post here. ~
Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, Eternal High Priest, Mother of all priests and our Mother, help us respond generously to the Holy Spirit's request, through the voice of His Church, to offer up to God Eucharistic adoration for priests. Amen.
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