Are priests relevant?

In the early days of the Revolution, when things were so unsettled, priests were shot on sight, as were many other people.  Jewish rabbis, Protestant ministers, Orthodox priests, all were shot or disposed of in some way.

Alone, a tiny parish was still surviving, and those of us who knew about it participated in the Mass in the middle of the night.  One night when the priest had just consecrated the Bread, the door opened, a rifle was thrust through, a shot was fired, and the priest fell dead.  The consecrated Bread fell on the floor.  Two soldiers came up then, ground it under their heels, and turning to us said, "Where is your God? Under our heel!"

An old man answered, "Lord, forgive them, even if they know what they do." Shamed or embarrassed, the two soldiers left the church.  The old man gave us Communion with the remnants of the Body of Christ.  We buried the priest.

And then there was none! No one to hear one's confession and give absolution.  No one to give us Viaticum and the last rites, as they were called then.  No one to offer Mass.  Anyone who has gone through this tragedy knows what it means to be without a priest.  I never thought I would live to see the day when parishes would be closed and monasteries sold for lack of vocations, and departures.

So when I see in the news questions such as, "Are priests relevant to our modern world?" they leave me numb and I cry silently out of the very depths of my soul.  I beg Christ to touch, with the "spittle" of his grace (Mk 7:33), the eyes and ears of those who ask such questions, so that they may cease to "have ears and hear not, have eyes and see not," so that they may become witnesses and believers.