Seeing up close a devoted pastor at work, as I did two weeks ago, can up-lift the soul. On a visit to his church in Cocoa Beach, Florida, I had the chance to observe how a truly dedicated priest serves his God and his people. I came away from the experience buoyed up in spirit and encouraged that such a person is at work in the church.

Eamon Tobin grew up on a farm in rural Ireland. As a boy he did all of the chores which fall to a farmer’s sons – – milking the cows, keeping track of the sheep, and bringing in the hay, among other tasks. Going off to the seminary at a young age, he remedied the many gaps in the education provided him in his native village’s one-room schoolhouse.

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“The three richest people in the world own assets that exceed the combined gross domestic products of the world’s poorest 48 countries,” according to the United Nations Development Report.

“Among the 4.4 billion people who live in developing countries, three-fifths have no access to basic sanitation,” says the same source.

Even within the United States, the gap between rich and poor has continued to widen, so much so that many Americans see it as a serious threat to our national wellbeing.

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The best known Catholic theologian in the world today is probably Hans Kϋng, a Swiss priest celebrated as teacher and writer. Ironically, however, this renowned interpreter of Christianity to the modern world has operated since 1979 under a cloud. In that year the Vatican withdrew official approval of him as a teacher of Catholic theology. He continues a priest in good standing but he is not allowed to claim church backing for his teaching.

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“Talking lessened my anxiety and I felt peaceful again. No one can ever heal this wound, but when I can talk about it with a good friend I feel better.

“What to do with this inner wound that is so easily touched and starts bleeding again? It is such a familiar wound. It has been with me for many years. I don’t think this wound – – this immense need for affection, and this immense fear of rejection – – will ever go away. It is there to stay, but maybe for a good reason.”

These were private words written in his journal by Henri Nouwen on Wednesday September 27, 1995 in Watertown, Massachusetts. They were recently published in Sabbatical Journey, subtitled The Diary of His Final Year.

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