A priest's real duty

We hesitate to look to television or movies to edify us on priestly or religious life. But as you read in our articles on the sacraments, these can capture the gravity and drama of men and women in God's service.

Consider the dramatic cable TV series "Mad Men," based on the lives of people in advertising during the early 1960s. (Be advised: The graphic series is for adults only.) Last year, a parish priest appeared in remarkable set of cameos spread over three episodes.

Rev. John Gill, played by Colin Hanks, is a slightly stiff young man newly assigned to a Brooklyn parish. He engages a parishioner, Peggy, a rising, enigmatic star at the ad agency. He senses a cloud over her and zeroes in. His attention seems untoward at first. Then you see that he really is out to save her soul.

He urges confession, notably during the Cuban missile crisis lest disaster strike and she go to hell. She waves him off, saying God doesn't work like that. He persists. At one point he asks bluntly, "Do you think you don't deserve God's love?"

In a rich moment that catches the viewer of this generally chilly show off-guard, Father Gill retires to his spare bedroom one night. He removes his collar, picks up a guitar, sits on his bed and belts out a Peter, Paul and Mary song in a voice of conviction. "Early in the morning, I ask the Lord to help me find a way." His words bless the messy lives of the main characters, whom the camera pans over in their own bedtime rituals.

It's a good reminder that a pastor's primary job - aside from checking the furnace and rehearsing weddings - is to steer us toward God.

(12-10-09)