A priest I know was commenting on how it takes so little for a priest to be considered a sterling example of priesthood today:
I don’t think I know of a single orthodox priest who doesn’t, deep down, realize that he has benefited (in the eyes of the believing Catholic public) from virtue inflation. It’s easy being perceived as a “good priest” nowadays. Just say your daily prayers, preach the truth, celebrate Mass correctly and be faithful to one’s promise of celibacy. That’s it. Enough to get to Purgatory, methinks—but even here, no guarantees. Deep down, we know that we’ll stand before the Just Judge and we won’t be compared to the gay priests and bishops. We’ll be compared to what we could have been if we responded to the abundance of God’s grace. Now THAT’s a sobering thought.
He’s right. The bar has been so lowered in the priesthood that a priest who should be normal and average stands out in virtue and orthodoxy and it could put him in danger of complacency. In other words, in comparison to many others of their brother priests, even an average orthodox priest doing the minimums is praised as if he’s a star. The same goes for bishops, by the way. Pray for your priests.
