Father, watch your waistline!

By Martin Jumbam

Recently, a spate of sudden deaths has hit the Catholic clergy, particularly, but not exclusively, in the Ecclesiastical Province of Bamenda, which comprises the Archdiocese of Bamenda and the Dioceses of Buea, Mamfe and Kumbo, in English-speaking Cameroon. Such sudden deaths have naturally led to much speculation, from the most trivial to the most fanciful. While the phenomenon of sudden deaths, now known in certain parts of Cameroon as “collapse”, is not limited to the clergy, it has become sufficiently frequent among these workers in God’s vineyard to warrant a few reflections on my part, as an active lay faithful.

There are many interesting things to learn from Father Robert J. O’Neil’s book entitled Mission to the British Cameroons, a book on the presence of the Mill Hill missionaries in the Cameroons, first published in 1991 by the Saint Joseph’s Missionary Society in London. The bulk of the book is anchored on the towering figure of the Right Reverend Monsignor Peter Rogan, who spent 37 years of his life in active duty in the British Cameroons, from 1937 to 1962.

I had the opportunity to review Father O’Neil’s book several years ago in the pages of L’Effort camerounais. Today, I’m revisiting that book just to pick out one or two ideas for the purpose of this article, particularly what Father O’Neil calls Bishop Rogan’s keen interest in the health of his priests. “When he [Bishop Rogan] visited mission stations, he took a keen interest in the health of his priests, always inspecting the kitchen (as he did while at his headquarters) and tossing any spoiled food out of the window. He used to say, ‘Put your money on the table and let the church fall down; you’re more important than a mere building.’” (p. 35).

Further in the book, we learn that “Peter Rogan often complained that his priests did not care for their health, never entering the kitchen to see how their food was prepared. On one occasion all three Mankon priests were sick and he blamed it on poor hygiene and a dirty kitchen. He admitted that Father Woodman was popular with his fellow priests but needed to take more interest in his “table” and kitchen” (p. 73).

Bishop Rogan was concerned, not only for the spiritual health of his priests, but for their physical wellbeing as well. That is why he could say openly “Put your money on the table and let the church fall down; you’re more important than a mere building.” The physical health of people is just as important as the spiritual. This is moreso when the people in question happen to be our priests. It is vitally important that our priests remain in good physical health to be able to attend to the spiritual needs of the people of God entrusted to their care.

We, the laity, sometimes pay more attention to the way our priests preach in church, or to the way they behave in society (their moral side) than to the way they look (physically). I was in Bambui the other day and seminarians of the Saint Thomas Aquinas Major Seminary and some of their formators were engaged in an exciting football encounter. It was some kind of inter-house competition. Those slim and athletic young men were giving their all into that game. I remember remarking to my friend that if the good Lord could be so kind as to call all those young men into his vineyard, the Church that is in Cameroon would teem with a healthy presbyterial team around our bishops.

My friend, a little more cynical than me, said: “You see all these young athletic men; just wait two or three years after their ordination and you’ll see many of them pushing big tummies ahead of them.” I looked up in surprise and he continued; “many of our priests, especially the younger ones, don’t take good care of their health these days. You heard of the two young priests that were recently lowered into the grave, one in Kumbo, the other in Buea?” Of course, we had all heard of them. “Well,” he continued, “the epitaph on their tombstones might very well read: “Olympic champions of food and drink!”.

Crude though his assertion sounded, I couldn’t help but agree with him that something seems to be amiss with some of our priests these days. They don’t seem to take good care of their physical health. It may sound unfair to single out our priests as if they lived in isolation in the society. Don’t we all tend to live an abusive life-style these days, especially those of us living in cities like Douala and Yaounde, with their quick-food-restaurant mentalities? Then why, you may ask, am I singling out our priests for concern?

It is simply because the Church has never had enough priests.  Our Blessed Lord himself asks us to pray to the Master of the harvest to send labourers into his vineyard, for the harvest is always more plentiful than the labourers (Mt 9: 37-38). When our prayers are answered, we should do all in our power to ensure that those whom the Master deems worthy to serve his people remain, not only spiritually, but also physically, healthy.

Effective missionaries

Some of the most effective missionaries in the New Testament seem to me to be those individuals to whom our Blessed Lord restores the vitality of health by releasing them from the grips of Satan and disease. Once they recover their health, their joy is so great that no amount of warning or threat can silence them. Take the case of the man with leprosy, who falls to his knees before our Lord and says, “If you are willing, you can cleanse me” (Mk 1:40).  Our compassionate Master feels sorry for him and reaches out and touches him saying, “I am willing, be cleansed” (v. 41) and at once the man is cured. Despite our Lord’s stern warning to him to go show himself to the priests only and to say nothing to anyone else, the cured man, in his excitement – and who can blame him! – rushes off and freely proclaims the great deeds of Christ to everyone so that Jesus can no longer go openly into any town, but is forced to stay outside in deserted places (v. 45). Physical health motivates and energizes great missionary work.

Another glaring example is from Saint John’s Gospel (Jn 9: 1-41) where Christ heals the man born blind by spitting on the ground, making a muddy paste and rubbing it on his eyes. He then advises the blind man to go and wash his face in the Pool of Siloam. Once that is done, he recovers his eyesight, an occurrence that throws the priestly hierarchy of the ruling class in Jerusalem into total confusion. The Scribes and the Pharisees, refusing to admit the obvious, threaten the man with dire consequences should he continue to claim that Christ has healed him, but the man is adamant. To him, Christ is a prophet (v. 17). He is finally thrown out of the Synagogue but he stands his ground. Here is a man who unexpectedly recovers his health and throws all caution to the winds as he proclaims the wonders of our Lord’s action to the world. Christ could not have found a more ardent missionary than him. He is not afraid to lift his voice, a voice resounding with health and strength. He lifts it up in praise of the Lord.

A physically healthy priest is a happy priest; a happy priest is a pleasant priest to have around; a pleasant priest to have around is a much more effective missionary than one who is unwell, who is sullen, and who is grouchy. Therefore, Father, take care of what you eat and drink. Take frequent walks around your parish. Organize sporting activities and encourage your parishioners to join in. Jog around your parish and encourage curious onlookers to join you. Take vacations. You will come back more energized and more enthusiastic to preach God’s Word of salvation, in season and out of season. I find nothing more irritating than to hear a priest say, as I so often hear: “I’m too busy to take a vacation! There’s too much work in my parish, so I can’t go on vacation!”

Father, take the cue from His Eminence Christian Cardinal Tumi. When his vacation time comes, the man is gone! I recall the other day asking his secretary if he was around. The good lady looked at me a little surprised. “Don’t you know that he never jokes with his vacation? He’s in Kumbo to see his mother.” Then with a conspiratorial smile on her lips, she added: “Mama’s big baby!” and we both burst out in laughter, knowing we could poke fun at our bishop over his love for his mother without running the risk of being excommunicated from God’s House. 

The question is, if an archbishop can take time to go on vacation, why not his priests? What Bishop Rogan said several decades ago is still valid: Father, you’re worth much more than the buildings entrusted to your care. So, protect your health. I make this supplication through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Comments

[Bongaman]

Excellent article.
I hope the writter is also aware of the fact his own health is far more important than any other building he may be sitting in. Hope he's is also taking lessons from the archbishop when it come's to holidaying.
Thank you Shu-tav!

Bongaman