Summary

In Chapter 16, “Priestly Fellowship,” Joe begins to settle into the role of parish priest. Given his grounding in the sacred dimensions of the Catholic faith, he struggles daily with evidence that his parishioners do not share his sense of the elevated position of faith and the respect that the Church deserves. It is Sunday, and Joe walks from the rectory to the church. As he walks across the church parking lot, he cannot help but notice, with irritation and frustration, the scattering of litter from parishioners who think no more of the Church than to empty their car’s ashtray into the lot. Father Felix is at the church already. He is an older priest, plagued by a heart condition, and now living at the nearby monastery (which Joe terms the Big House). Father Felix comes to SS. Francis and Clare on weekends...