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Flourishing in the Priesthood Today
Plenary Address at the National Federation of Priests' Councils
42nd Annual Priests' Conference | Houston Texas, April 14, 2010
Rev. John J. Cecero, SJ
 About four years ago, my 87 year-old mother fell and broke her hip while visiting relatives in Sicily. Within hours of receiving the news in New York, I was on a plane for Italy, to spend the next several weeks at her bedside to help her through this ordeal. Soon after I returned home, still thoroughly exhausted and even somewhat disoriented, I had dinner with a friend and fellow psychologist who asked me, "How has this experience been transformative for you?" I was perplexed, and even a bit annoyed, by the question. After all, I was still trying to get my bearings in the wake of such a harrowing experience. Survival and a return to the ordinary were my immediate goals. But the question was an excellent one, and one that I believe stands as a challenge to priests today.
Almost ten years after the initial shock, fear, and anger, of the clergy sexual abuse reports and aftermath, priests today are functional, reoriented to the new way of proceeding with ministry and a careful attention to boundaries, and the crisis phase, at least in the United States, is for the most part behind us. In his survey of US priests, Rossetti (2008) reports that morale and vocational satisfaction among priests today is strikingly positive. Still, even among participants in the Rossetti surveys, priests report loneliness and difficulties with weight control and alcohol use. Priests in the US are overwhelmed with vocational responsibilities (Knox et al, Nov. 2005), and concerns about structural rigidity in church leadership in response to increasing pastoral demands weigh heavily on priests. It appears, then, that priests and the structures within which they work have survived the crisis, yet the life-giving transformation to which my friend was referring upon my return from Italy is still on the horizon. Priests are not yet flourishing.
Positive psychology has recently defined "flourishing" as living within an optimal range of human functioning, one that includes generativity, growth (not just maintenance) and resilience. By contrast, "languishing" is the experience of life as hollow or empty (Fredrickson & Losada, 2005). Epidemiological work suggests that fewer than 20% of US adults flourish! At the same time, the costs of languishing are high, in terms of emotional distress, psychosocial impairment, limited daily activities, and lost work days. Priests are not exempt from this situation among the general public.
The recent paradigm shift in positive psychology away from the disease model of treating symptoms, with the goal of a return to "premorbid" functioning, i.e. where things were before the onset of symptoms, toward the goal of flourishing, is a promising development. The path to flourishing appear to be through the enhancement of character strengths or virtues (Peterson & Seligman, 2004), which in turn can promote positive emotions. Until recently, a lot more has been known about how negative emotions produce pathology than about how positive emotions may promote health and transformation.
Moreover, researchers in the field of positive psychology propose that flourishing is not simply a function of the absence of illness. Keyes (2002) argues for a two-factor model of mental health, where on one line there is the continuum between mental illness on one pole and mental health on the other; and on a second continuum there is languishing on one pole and flourishing on the other. Based on a large scale survey using these categories, Keyes found a moderate negative correlation between mental illness and flourishing, indicating the less illness, the more flourishing. However, the fact that this relationship was only moderate in magnitude suggests that a lot more goes into flourishing than simply the absence of mental illness. In other words, simply because there is no overt or self-reported depression or anxiety does not automatically make one flourish. Put otherwise, simply because there is the presence of anxiety or depression does not preclude the experience of flourishing. The recent publication of the writings of Blessed Theresa of Calcutta, wherein she confesses to long bouts of desolation, witnesses to this, along with the lives of many saints who were emotionally troubled yet holy (flourishing) at the same time.
Peterson and Seligman (2004) have identified twenty-four character strengths, constituting six broad categories of virtue that promote flourishing. I have selected five of those that I consider most relevant to the priestly life: creativity, vitality, love, humility, and gratitude.
Creativity
The continuum of creativity ranges from, at one pole, those who never come up with an original idea, and when they do, it seldom works to those at the other pole who are great scientists, Nobel laureates, composers, poets, etc. who are truly geniuses. In the middle range, where most of us dwell, is the practice of everyday creativity, or ingenuity, which is characterized by the ability to generate creative solutions to the ordinary problems encountered at home and at work.
Creative people are not necessarily intellectually brilliant, although highly creative people are not unintelligent, but generally have wide interests and have a greater openness to new experiences and are not afraid of taking risks. The development of this kind of creativity is especially important for priestly leadership today, to enable the priest to go from maintenance to vision in leadership.
There are certain strategies to foster creativity. First, it is important to defer judgment about the quality of one's work at its initial stages. Perfectionism will get in the way of creativity. Secondly, it is essential to stop work for a while, in order to permit ideas to percolate. The field of industrial and organizational psychology has accumulated a convincing body of evidence to support the efficacy of taking fascination breaks during the work day, so that no more than two hours go by without taking five or ten minutes simply to look outside, let the mind wander, and to notice the beauty all around. Workers who take such breaks are more productive and their satisfaction with work markedly improves with this regular practice.
Vitality
Vitality is another marker of optimal human functioning. It may be defined as the subjective experience of energy or aliveness, with both physical and emotional components.
Vitality is clearly related to health and negatively influenced by smoking, poor diet and lack of exercise. The key psychological predictor of vitality is a sense of autonomy, that my life and work are not trapped by demands and rigid performance expectations.
For priests, the challenge to foster vitality is especially apposite. In one diocese with which I am familiar, nearly 25% of the priests do not regularly take one day off per week, and I do not think that is uncharacteristic nationally. In addition, the routine demands of pastoral ministry and administration undermine that crucial sense of autonomy and can lead to burnout. All of this underscores the need to get moderate daily exercise, e.g., a brisk ten minute walk, and to avoid those sugar snacks which render an immediate surge of energy but two hours later leave the person more tired than before their ingestion.
Love
There are at least three types of love that are essential to flourishing. The first is akin to a child's love for a parent, where we rely on another to make our own welfare a priority; the second like a parent's love for a child, where we comfort and protect another, making sacrifices for their benefit, to make them feel safe; and the third a desire for emotional closeness with an individual, usually a peer, whom we consider special and with whom we share a reciprocal responsibility for care and attention.
Among those who have love in life, there are fewer psychosomatic symptoms in response to stress. It appears that the experience of love calms anxiety in response to trial or danger. There is, of course, a greater likelihood of seeking support when distressed.
While priests are encouraged to engage in multiple sources of intimacy (National Catholic Educational Association study of priests, Grace Under Pressure, 1995), the source of all loving is essentially rooted in the love of God. Pedro Arrupe, SJ, former superior general of the Jesuits, once wrote eloquently on love:
"Nothing is more practical then finding God. That is, then, falling in love in a quite absolute, final way. What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination, will affect everything…It will get you out of bed in the morning, what you will do with your evenings, how you spend your weekend, what you read, what you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you with joy and gratitude. Fall in love, stay in love, and it will decide everything."
Humility
The virtue of humility consists in an accurate sense of one's abilities and achievements, neither an underestimation (false humility) nor overestimation of one's self.
A realistic sense of self will permit the capacity for forgiveness, as the person will be less concerned with loss of image in the wake of interpersonal injury. Humble persons are capable of self-esteem regulation in situations where they are being criticized for something said, done, or not done. Such people do not fall apart under criticism. In addition, humility protects against impulsivity, e.g. substance abuse, masochism, eating disorders, even suicide. This is why humility is the cornerstone of Twelve-Step programs.
Above all, humility is grounded in a secure attachment to Christ. In the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola, a seminal grace to seek is a profound sense of being loved and called by God, not despite my sinfulness, but in full view and acknowledgment of my graces and liabilities, loved as I am, warts and all! This spiritual experience will ground the willingness to accept the realistic appraisal of one's self, and even take pride in it.
Gratitude
Gratitude may be defined as an enduring thankfulness that is sustained across situations and over time, where life is perceived more as a gift than a burden.
In the psychological research, this virtue has been associated with higher levels of positive emotions, life satisfaction, vitality and optimism (Emmons & McCullough, 2004). In my own clinical practice, I have found that gratitude is a powerful antidote to anxiety and depression. In fact, it is virtually impossible to be both grateful and disturbed at the same time. For this reason, I frequently recommend a gratitude list, to be composed when the person is feeling well, to be used regularly but especially during times of trial.
In his article on the Ignatian practice of Examen, Dennis Hamm, S.J. (1994) describes the practice of reviewing the day specifically to find the multiple ways that God has been laboring for me, in order to foster the proper gratitude and to renew a sense of zeal for engaging the work of the day.
Flourishing as a Priest Today
Sarah Knox (2005), in her study of vocational satisfaction among Catholic secular clergy, identified four predictors, and these likely serve as the specific context within which the character strengths are to be developed by priests: 1) Engagement in the life of the parish; 2) A sense of being divinely called by God to their vocation, which is an ongoing process beyond ordination and which is not always accompanied by sensible consolation; 3) Relationship with other clergy, underscoring the need for solid peer relationships; and 4) Opportunities to help others.
Len Sperry (2003) amplifies these predictions of priestly well-being in his book, Sex, Priestly Ministry and the Church, and he points out some of the complexities especially regarding engagement in the life of the parish. He stresses the importance of balancing personal needs with the "doing" of ministry, or else there is the risk of excessive self sacrifice which will lead to resentment, anxiety, depression or chronic frustration.
Overall, these four predictors of vocational satisfaction correspond to the personal and social determinants of flourishing and they may serve as the specific context within which to enhance the character strengths of creativity, vitality, love, humility and gratitude, as outlined and described in this presentation.
An important next stage of research among clergy will be to study the practice and enhancement of virtues and their relationship to flourishing among priests.
References
Emmons, R. A. & McCullough, M.E. (2004). The Psychology of Gratitude. Oxford University Press: New York.
Fredrickson, B. & Losada, M. Positive affect and the complex dynamics of human flourishing. American Psychologist, October, 2005.
Hamm, D. Rummaging for God: Praying backwards through your day. America, May 14, 1994.
Keyes, C (2002). The mental health continuum: From languishing to flourishing in life. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 43, 207-222.
Knox, S., Virginia, S., Thull, J. & Lombardo, J. (2005). Depression and contributors to vocational satisfaction in Roman Catholic secular clergy. Pastoral Psychology, 54 (2), 139-155.
Peterson, C & Seligman, M. (2004). Character Strengths and Virtues: A Handbook and Classification. APA: Washington, DC.
Sperry, L. (2003). Sex, Priestly Ministry, and the Church. Liturgical Press: Collegeville, Minnesota.
Walsh, J., Mayer, J., Castelli, J., Hemrick, E., Blanchette, M., & Theroux, P. (1995). Grace Under Pressure: What Gives Life to American Priests. NCEA: Washington, DC.
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