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The Lost Art of Walking on Water: Reimagining the Priesthood

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I'm not sure if the reason I enjoyed reading THE LOST ART OF WALKING ON WATER was due to new ideas on priesthood by its author. In truth, very little of what Michael Heher states is all that radically new. He speaks of ways to pray, keep celibacy in check, being authentic to the call, having a public persona, and most of what would be expected from a priest and in a book about ministry. Yet as I read the book, I found myself fully engaged and rarely felt as if I was reading the same old thing. I think the reason is Heher has the ability to say what so many priests are thinking and have been thinking for years, but do not always state. Unlike so many who have added to the volumes that have been written about priesthood and presbyteral ministry in the Catholic Church of the United States in the past few years, Herer is in active ministry as a priest and knows the effects of the recent clergy sex abuse scandal on priests and people alike. While the scandal is ever present in his work, it is hardly the focus as would be the case in writers such as Donald Cozzens. He knows that the priesthood is in a fragile state at this time, understands what it is like to loose credibility so quickly and how difficult it is to regain it, knows what the solution is but also understands that the solutions are hardly to become a reality any time soon and encourages his brother priests to persevere. The book is almost free of ideological bias and should be a source of empathy and encouragement to priest striving to serve God's Church and a wake up call for those who side by, are quick to complain, and do little to enrich and enliven their ministry.

While the book is written primarily for priests, it is a book that could be read by anyone interested in the health and future of the Roman Catholic Church. Ultimately it is a hopeful book, but it also reminds the reader of how much work needs to be done.

Fr. Heher does a wonderful job of putting today's priesthood in perspective. His refreshing style made the book enjoyable, the subtle humor and heartfelt words made it impressionable. I loved the book and the insight. Being a lay person it was a good look into the heart of the priest. Kudos Fr. Heher!

I never read such a joyful book on the priesthood. Fr. Michael Heher has been given a special grace to share with us his priesthood in a different way. I wish God can give us more priests like Fr. Michael.I laughed a lot reading his book.

Although Father Michael Heher specifically targets Priests as his reading audience, the book has a much broader appeal to everyone. His advice concerning living as a fully integrated human is invaluable. This book is an easy read, but stimulates thought.

Michael Heher is a priest and pastor of St. Irenaeus Church in Cypress, California; he has also been a vicar for priests.

He states in the Introduction to this 2004 book, "These essays try to show how our ministry is crucial to the life of the everyday church, how to be a priest is, to quote Robert Barron, 'as exciting as being a brain surgeon, and as difficult and inspiring.'... By wrestling with my own odd life as one parish priest, I am trying to find our priesthood."

Here are some quotations from the book:

"We remind people of what the newspapers don't seem to mention: that the vast majority of priests are doing exemplary work and that only a very small percentage of priests are pedophiles. We argue that the typical pedophile is more likely to be a married man than a sexually repressed priest. We highlight the importance of everyone 'respecting the boundaries.'" (Pg. 13)

"I think priests generally recognize how tough it is to be a bishop, particularly a diocesan bishop. They come in for lots of criticism---not all of it undeserved, mind you---and they find themselves frequently under both the gun and the microscope, with the same people wanting them to solve their problems and stop telling them what to do... When a priest I know was named bishop, he told me he received from the clergy as many offers of condolence as cheers of congratulations." (Pg. 73)

"Some of us gloat about how we have not cracked a book since the seminary and won't even bother to do those quickie one-day workshops the diocese puts on. Under duress, we'll scan the occasional article or submit to diocese-mandated study days (especially if they are taking attendance), but we protest that everything priests need to know can be learned in the parking lot and the confessional. We are the guys in the streets, it is argued, not theoreticians perched in some think tank. To me, this a completely specious contention..." (Pg. 116)