The Prayer Doll

As he followed the procession to the front of the church, the congregants of Saint Maria Catholic Church have all risen in respect for their presence.

Monsignor John Dubois had been a priest for 52 years and still he had to control the urge to sneeze from the local incense that the Parish ordered through the diocese. Of course, there were a great many things that he disagreed with, not the least of which was the incense. Monsignor glanced at Father Donald from behind the podium, and it was hard to contain his expression of disgust. A priest was supposed to maintain a visage of gentle non-judgment, but the whole situation did not sit well with him.

"All rise", said Father Donald, "The Lord be with you".

"And with your spirit". The congregants reply in unison.

The Monsignor wondered if they knew who they were repeating the blessing to, if they would be so ready to repeat the practiced, monotone reply.

Had he known what kind of choice the bishop would have made, the Monsignor would have never made the request for a younger replacement. At 74 years old, he knew his time was growing near. Oh, he had a few years left, but it was a far better idea to be available to a new priest and introduce him to a small-town church such as this.

The Monsignor had grown up here. His favorite cousin, Verna Rose, was sitting in the third pew, the way she had every Sunday since he had returned from his assignments abroad. Her family attended with her, and now the third pew was entirely occupied by the generations of her offspring, as well as some of the fourth row. Yousang Nguyen and his young family sat in the middle; the Chinese immigrants were welcomed by him personally when they requested an American Baptism. And Morgan Broussard, who had been a deacon for 10 years, his son was now one of the altar boys.

How could he possibly leave these trusting, loving parishioners to the guidance of this pathetic excuse of a man who calls himself a "Servant of God"?

Bishop Harris called him two weeks ago with the news of his replacement. Father Richard Donald needed to transfer to a quiet small town away from troubled issues. What type of troubled issues? It seems that a 10 year-old girl, who was being counseled in a group, had pointed the finger at Father Donald "because he had touched her inappropriately". The bishop's voice intimated over the phone that the little girl was obviously just "crying out" for attention.

It was not unheard of; there had been incidents where priests were responsible for molestations. The Monsignor felt these people did not need to be working for the diocese and he certainly didn't approve of the way the Vatican had chosen to handle the situation. Until today, he had never felt a need to address the problem; he had never had it personally touch his life.

John Dubois had felt the call to God's service when he was only 8 years old. He had been an altar boy until he was 16, under the counsel of Father Wallace. A wonderful priest, Father Wallace was a hard taskmaster, and upon learning of the 17 year old John's intent to go into seminary, the Father sat him down and told him the most important information in regard to the life in service to God.

"Son, we are all human, but we aspire to be God's vessels here on earth. This is the hardest path you have ever chosen. The Bible says a lot of things about fornication and perversion. Man, by nature, is weak and will fall to temptation. Sometimes a man of God, must take measures not to fall in with the devil."

John was no fool and was shocked to the core that his own priest was advising him on masturbation. Feeling somewhat embarrassed and betrayed, John immediately left Father Wallace's office and set out on his path. It wasn't until his first assignment in Los Angeles, while training with Father Rosas, that he understood what a Father Wallace was trying to tell him.