JoeGoaUk wrote: I remember those days while kissing the priests? hands.
?we said ?Deu boro dis dium tuka pativ? Ami ou amchim bhurguim azunui oxem kortat gai? Kiteak na? Antam vas eta kitem? Ou tanchim fottim ou mellim kortumbam tumchea dolleam samkara etat? Why this is not happening now? Is it because.. Tempa pormonnem mathiar kurponnem? Yes ? You mean to say they were like God before? If yes, who are they like now? RESPONSE: JoeGoa has made a very good observation. However, one must ask the question, Why? Why did people kiss the hands of a priest? Was it because they assumed the priest was holy? Was it because they considered the priest a God? Why? Yes, many questions for sure. When I was young, I too was taught to kiss the hands of a priest, and I was told the reason why. Not for the reasons mentioned above for sure. A priest is a man like any other. As a human, like any of us he is bound to either succeed or fail at what he does or needs to do. However, the reason we kiss the hands of a priest is because we believe that it is those hands that are blessed. Blessed with the opportunity to hold the consecrated host each day. The hands of a priest are like a holy receptacle which holds the body of our God while on the altar. And that is why we kiss the revered hands of a priest. I do understand that this may be very difficult for some when they think of the way some priests live their lives: living in sin. But, we should never confuse the personal life of a priest with the special calling he has, to consecrate the sacred species each day. So when we kiss the hands of a priest, we are kissing a holy receptacle and not the actual 'hands of a priest'. Let us not sit in judgement of our priests. Like us, they are human and can fail. Any many have failed. In fact, too many have failed, lending a bad name to the Holy Priesthood. After all, we don't see the good ones, but count the bad apples. Let us support our priests in their priestly duties. With our support and prayers, maybe we will see less of those bad apples! Joe, times have changed, but the priesthood set up by Jesus himself has not. We have changed, but God has not. Salus Correia
