Expert: Fr. Timothy Johnson - 1/6/2008

Question
QUESTION: Hello, Father, and Happy New Year to you! I am a Protestant myself, but I am also a writer, and my current project takes place in 1840's Charleston, South Carolina. Many of my characters are Catholic and so I've been researching both the historical and contemporary Church. I have a scene in which a priest gives the Last Sacraments to another character. He's just blessed the room with holy water. The sick woman begins to cough, and I was going to have him offer her water, but then I wondered if he might give her some of the holy water? I found out the drinking of holy water is done in the Eastern Church, but I don't know about the U.S. Thank you very much for your time, and God bless you!

ANSWER: Hi, Elyse:
Thanks for the question.
The drinking of Holy Water is not unheard of, even in the Latin Rite Church in the USA.  It would likely be something done among the very devout as an aid to healing and receiving some blessings from God.  Have you ever heard of "Lourdes Water" from Lourdes, France?  I had a friend who would drink that sometimes.

Fr. Timothy Johnson

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QUESTION: I looked up Lourdes water--thank you. I am also wondering about the proper form(s) of address for a priest. Do some people call you "Father Johnson" and others "Father Timothy," depending on how well they know you? What about your own family? Does your earthly father also call you Father?? Thank you again.

ANSWER: Hi, Elyse:
Thanks for the questions.
The prevailing custom is to call Priests with the title "Father"; and if he is a Diocesan Priest, usually followed by the last name; if from a Religious Order, followed by the first name of religion - though this is not a hard-and-fast rule.
Sometimes it can depend upon how well one knows me, or whether they have known me in life prior to my Ordination as a Priest.  Oftentimes these people tend to say "Father Timothy."
In my Parish work, I always introduce and call myself "Father Johnson."  Some Parishioners, however, seem to try to call me "Fr. Timothy" to spark what in their mind is an equivalent to "instant intimacy."  I don't really let it bother me, one way or other.  Most certainly just follow convention and say "Fr. Johnson."
My Dad sometimes springs off the title Father in a joking kind of fashion when, say, he calls me on the phone which I answer: "Hello, Fr. Johnson."  He then says: "Well, this is YOUR Fr. Johnson...", etc.
Of course you know from my profile that my parents are not Catholic; but we are in regular contact via telephone, and I tend to get back home once in a while during some of my vacation time.  It is an interesting dynamic.  Politically my parents and I are quite conservative, but the divergence in religious belief and expression certainly can make life colorful if we aren't careful.

Fr. Timothy Johnson

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QUESTION: My gratitude to you once again for your prompt and thorough reply, Father Johnson--and on Epiphany, no less!
You mentioned your vacation time, which is something else I have been wondering about: how a Priest's days/weeks/years are structured. If he is obliged to pray the Liturgy of the Hours every day, does he have to visit parishioners and do everything else between these times? What about duties that cannot be scheduled, like last rites? What if the Priest is travelling? Do you not pray the Liturgy on your day off per week and your month off per year?
In my novel, I want to have my Priest character travel from South Carolina to Colorado to marry his nephew; but given 19th century travel conditions, I know it would take him more than 30 days round-trip. If he's leaving his parish specifically to administer a Sacrament, does that make a difference? Do you have any idea if these allowances have changed since the 1800's?
I apologize for a very long question. I am just having trouble pinning down some of the information I need. Unfortunately I do not know Latin.
Though I may not be Catholic, I have the utmost respect for the choice you made and the work you do, Father Johnson. Thank you so much.

Answer
Hi, again, Elyse:

Sounds like you have done a lot of research and have down much terminology that many Catholic Lay People do not possess on these matters.
How a Priest's days/weeks/years are structures could vary quite a bit within certain parameters, depending on the kind of assignment he has been placed in by the Bishop.  I am assuming that your Priest character is pretty much a typical Parish Priest of the 1800s?  He probably would be in a situation very much like my own, as I am in a rural Parish setting, though in modern times with certain contemporary factors that would not have been with a Priest in the 19th Century.  He, like myself, would have been the full-time everything for his Parish, taking care of his own personal needs such as cooking and cleaning, etc. He would have kept the books of the Parish, too; though in my case, this is one of the few things that I am not expected (or allowed) to do myself.  I have a car, of course, and drive among 3-Parishes that are about 25 to 30 miles apart - impossible in the days before good roads and the automobile.  In addition, I take care of the Tri-Parish Bulletin which I could not do without a computer.
A Priest is expected to offer public Mass for his Parishioners on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation, and will typically offer weekday Mass, as well.  He will also do something to make certain that the children receive a Religious Education; maybe the Parish will even have a Parish School (though these became more common in the USA only late in the 1800s, and through the first half of the 1900s).  An 1800s Priest might also work a lot more with teaching Sisters; and if the Parish did not have a full-time school, this religious formation was often taught by visiting mission sisters who would run kind of teaching Catechism camps for a few weeks each summer.
Liturgy of Hours: YES - the Priest is obligated to pray this every day, and even makes a promise to do so in the very Rite of Ordination (the day he is ordained to Major Orders, which in the 1800s would have been when he was ordained Subdeacon).  I made this promise when I was ordained a Deacon.
In 1800s, the Priest would not use the term Liturgy of Hours, but most commonly the term BREVIARY.  Some more Liturically-minded Priests of the time might have used the word "Divine Office."  In those days, as well, it would not have been uncommon that the Priest pray his WHOLE Breviary all-at-one-time in the morning before Mass.
Other Historical note: In the 1800s, there were no SAT evening vigil Mass for Sunday, as all Masses had to be celebrated before noon.  This was a result of centuries of the very rigorous Communion Fast that allowed no food, drink, or even water from midnight the night before offering Mass in the morning.  So late morning Masses were quite a sacrifice, you see.
I pray the Divine Office on MY day off, as the obligation never ceases except in cases of pretty serious illness.  In the 1800s, I don't even think they would speak of the Priest's having a "Day Off"; though I am certain a healthy Priest would know how to have balanced recreation and hobbies. These days, depending upon just how many Masses the Priest has in the day, and Pastoral Calls, some portions of the Breviary can be omitted in accord with particular Law of the Diocese; though Universal Law of the Catholic Church envisions this in principle.
Other historical facts: In the 1800s, there was NO Code of Canon Law.  The first one was issued in 1917.  This does not mean that there were no laws, or that things were lax, by any means.  For example, I do not believe that in the 1800s there were provisions for relaxing the obligation of the Breviary no matter how busy the Priest was, or of omitting any part of it.  I honestly believe that the overwhelming majority of Priests were faithful to this rigor.  They were mostly pretty holy men, and very concerned about such things.
I am not certain what kind of 19th Century policies, if any, were in place for long-term, long-distance travel for the typical Priest.  I have a feeling that in those times it would not be as now that he would just get invited, pick up, and go, and provide a substitute Priest (we have to make sure to get a sub in my experience, at least for the weekend Masses).  Such a journey, to witness the marriage of a nephew, for example, would most likely take place within the context of a scenario where the Priest was going that journey because the Bishop or some authority was sending him out and back, and the Priest was able to work in the Marriage Ceremony for his nephew.
In contemporary modern times, a Priest is given 30-Days of vacation by Canon Law (1983 Code); but I doubt that there were such provisions back in the 1800s.

Fr. Timothy Johnson