The Catholic Church in Germany was a total mess. Prelates were more interested in secular affairs and maintaining their own comfort than actually worshipping Jesus or sharing his teachings. When they did preach and engage in “spiritual” or “catechetical” events, the content was typically more Protestant than Catholic. Their lifestyles were often scandalously promiscuous. Crowds of laity were leaving the Catholic Church. Many joined Protestant sects in hopes of a more credible Christianity. Other Catholics simply drifted away from religious practice. There were no apparent reasons for hope. No signs that the Catholic Church in Germany would have a future. All indices of spiritual vitality were heading in the wrong direction.
And these problems were not just in Germany. Very pronounced there for sure, but also in other places where Catholicism had a large institutional footprint and history. Would the rest of the Catholic world go the way of German Catholicism too?
This was the uncertainty of Catholic life when Father Peter Faber, SJ arrived in Germany in 1540. Not surprisingly, Faber battled against torrents of discouragement and despair welling up within himself while serving in Germany. Working closely with cardinals, bishops, and priests, he found himself, over and over, learning that things were even worse than he had previously thought. What was left of Catholic life, he referred to as the “ruins” of the Catholic Church.1 Parishes, dioceses, and religious communities were not thriving:
Many parishes were without priests, and the few priests who remained were non-residents. For the most part the clergy were unworthy; many were living in concubinage. Monks were deserting their monasteries and discarding their habits . . .2
Teaching authentic doctrine with clarity was not in vogue. For example, Faber was forbidden from catechizing a group of Catholic children in Worms to avoid offending Protestant sensibilities. Meanwhile, the Dominican church in the same city provided a public venue for preachers to disseminate Lutheran ideas.3
Inspiring episcopal leadership was absent in many dioceses. For example, when Faber arrived in Cologne in 1543, Cardinal Archbishop Hermann von Wied was enthusiastically Protestantizing his Catholic archdiocese. While initially attempting to reform from within the Catholic Church, he quickly shifted to Protestantism when his first attempts were not immediately successful. He sought counsel from Protestant advisors and followed their suggestions closely. He was eventually excommunicated. One historian described the cardinal archbishop this way:
As a man he was an enigma; as a theologian, an ignoramus. Shifty, unreliable, and gullible to a degree, he was an obvious target for the manipulative abilities of clever Lutherans. It is difficult to detect in him a single quality that might have made him a spiritual leader.4
This lack of virtuous episcopal leadership was the backdrop of Father Faber’s ministry in Cologne. Church life there was chaotic and complex. Stated less politely, an ecclesial dumpster fire was raging.
In fact, most of Faber’s priesthood involved being sent to Catholic communities in disarray, badly needing reform. His ministry was fraught with constant moving between cities and countries as obedience to his superiors sent him to new places. The frequent journeying was physically exhausting and dangerous.5 But even more tiring was the process of making new friends and allies in each new assignment. He rarely saw the fruit of his labors. When he began gaining some momentum towards conversion and reform, obedience called him to a new assignment in a different locale. He wrote to his superior, Saint Ignatius: “Our Lord knows the reasons why I do not deserve to stay in one place for any length of time but am always being taken away at the moment when the harvest begins to peak.”6
Personally, Faber was prone to depression, anxiety, scrupulosity, and indecision.7 With such a predisposition to depression and anxiety, doing ministry in spiritually forlorn places was especially burdensome. Being deeply sensitive, scandals and apathy within the Church created much sadness for him. Battling against pessimism and despair were constant challenges for him. So too were temptations of sexual sin and fears of being unfaithful to his vows.8 Considering Faber’s virtuous constancy in his religious profession, his preoccupation with these temptations and fears seems unwarranted. The fact that he regularly saw discouraged clergy around him sliding into unfaithfulness makes his preoccupation more understandable.
Despite all the struggle, the priesthood of Father Peter Faber bore tremendous fruit. His ministry brought many clergy, religious, and laity to conversion. He inspired a significant number of priestly and religious vocations, including Saint Peter Canisius. His ministry in Germany sparked spiritual renewal in people living during an era of religious catastrophe. A writer in 1541 provided the following summary of his ministry: “Those who were wavering are now strengthened, others who had already fallen away have regained their faith.”9 In the months following Faber’s ministry in Speyer, parish priests reported “that more people had received Holy Communion during Eastertide than during the entire twenty years previous.”10 When he died in 1546 at age 40, popular acclaim considered him a saint.11 He is remembered as an insightful spiritual director, gifted retreat master, and effective evangelist.
So, how did he do it? How did he persevere despite overwhelming causes for discouragement? What insights can those ministering today gain from the approach of Saint Peter Faber as they face discouragement in their service to the Church?
Be Truthful
Firstly, Faber was honest about the reality of the situation. He did not bury his head in the sand and naïvely carry on as if the Church was thriving when, in fact, it was not. He was also honest with himself about his struggles with discouragement. He found himself depressed by scandal and apathy in the Church. He loved the Catholic Church, and it pained him to see her in such terrible condition.
The spiritual practice of a daily Examen aided his commitment to truthfulness. This prayer provided a method for acknowledging the reality of the situation within the context of faith and dialogue with God. He did not need to bury his feelings alive. He processed his disappointments with faith in God’s work. He actively sought God’s grace to help him fight against temptations of discouragement and despair. He did not hide his struggles from his closest religious brothers.
Cherish Spiritual Insights
Second, Saint Peter Faber cherished moments of spiritual insight. His Memoriale is a sort of spiritual journal in which he carefully recorded insights gained in prayer. He began his spiritual diary citing Psalm 103:2: “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.”12 Faber found strength in his battle against hopelessness by hanging onto spiritual insights and graces received, returning to them to be nourished and reinspired, especially when what surrounded him was disheartening and uninspiring. Prayerfully cherishing past graces helped him persevere through periods of desolation in prayer, fatigue, and melancholy.
The Examen helped him search out the working of God’s grace and signs of hope that were present, though hardly visible, amid dismal ecclesial conditions. He encouraged faithful Catholics to avoid despair by searching for the workings of God’s grace even in challenging situations. To a faithful priest living in Cologne during Cardinal von Wied’s reign of buffooneries, Faber advised: “Search, reverend Father, search the city’s nooks and crannies and you will find hidden treasures — treasures of sound teaching and piety.”13
Prioritize Renewal in Prayer and Charity
Third, ecclesial reform is only possible if there is spiritual renewal in the souls of clergy, religious, and laity. The main focus of Faber’s ministry was helping people renew their relationship with God. Faber particularly prioritized mentoring clergy, assisting them in developing more robust habits of meditative prayer. This often took concrete form in leading them through the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius. He also helped them see the need for more frequent Confession and greater willingness to provide this sacrament for others.
Faber believed that solid doctrinal content, apologetic writings, and winning arguments and debates were not enough, on their own, to reform the Catholic Church and win back fallen away Catholics. Witness of life was also needed.14 A consistent prayer life, frequent reception of the sacraments, and practice of Christian virtue were necessary. Faber underscored the importance of being motivated by charity when rooting out evil in the Church.15 He recognized that some approaches to reform and purification in the Church can lead faithful Catholics to harbor bitterness and hatred. Ultimately, this leads to their own spiritual ruin.
Father Faber employed a relational approach in leading others to repentance. He built community, establishing a warm human rapport through which he could guide people to spiritual growth and conversion.16 Such human encounter was fruitful because it was rooted in charity, not rancor, spite, or disdain.
Another exercise of charity Father Faber practiced was praying for those who were causing division, scandal, and problems in the Church. He prayed by name for Martin Luther and other individuals spreading heterodox teachings.17 Faber considered intercessory prayer for the erring essential. After all, to overcome their pride, admit their mistakes, and change their lifestyle would “require spiritual power.” Only “the finger of God” could lead them to arrive at the “degree of humility, patience, and the other virtues which would be needed for anyone . . . to make such a change after so great a fall and subversion.”18 When clergy today find themselves frustrated by particular individuals causing division and confusion in the Church, or even locally in their own parish, Faber’s example of spending time offering quiet prayers for these persons is a way to maintain charity in one’s heart and further the possibility of their conversion.
Very relevant to our times are Faber’s insights about the dangers of becoming too preoccupied with “news” of Church scandals. Faber connected his temptations to despair (i.e. believing that his ministry would be fruitless) with “too great a desire for information” about scandals that led him to become “excessively addicted to hearing about them and brooding over them.”19 He recognized that despair takes root and grows in church ministers when they allow chronicles of sin and heterodoxy to take up more attention and time than contemplation of the Gospel, prayer, and service to God’s people. While bringing evil into the light is important for purification in the Church, keeping up with the latest ecclesial news should not be seen as a replacement for the spiritual growth and conversion which are the true foundation of authentic ecclesial reform. Faber lamented that some “think that nothing else is necessary in their conduct of affairs except the extirpation of public heretics,” while doing nothing positive to inspire virtue, share the Gospel, and build up the Church. He continues, “Both hands of the builders of the city are engaged in brandishing the sword against the enemy. Why is it, O Good God, that we do not keep at least one hand free for the positive work of construction?”20
Rely on the Communion of Saints and Divine Assistance
Fourth, those working in the Church in discouraging situations should rely on the intercession of the Communion of Saints.21 Father Faber asked the help of the patron saints of the places where he was serving or even just passing through in his travels.22 He gave emphasis to invoking the intercession of the angels, including one’s guardian angel.23 During an era when faithful priests often felt isolated, Faber underlined communion with the saints and angels who serve as efficacious collaborators in ministry. His own reliance on heavenly intercession provided succor amid the isolating circumstances of his travels and the mayhem of Church drama that was his daily workplace.
His example demonstrates the helpfulness of integrating devotion to the saints into one’s daily life. Developing relationships with the saintly patrons of one’s ministry setting (i.e. the patron of one’s parish or apostolate) is a practical way to follow Faber’s example.
The outlook and approach of Saint Peter Faber to ministry went beyond simple earthly calculations. He learned to put his “trust directly in God alone.”24 The human means at his disposal and his own talents were insufficient on their own to bring back those who had fallen astray. The Church was in such ruins that only God’s intervention could save it.25 The power of God’s grace was ultimately the reason he could have hope. It was the reason why he continued in his ministry.
Tied to his faith in God’s providence was his strong commitment to obedience. On several occasions, Father Faber found himself in unappealing assignments. He would have preferred to leave and go elsewhere. Other times, when he would have preferred to stay in a particular place, he was asked to depart exactly when he was finally seeing some progress. But he trusted in God working through his superiors. Faber’s obedience was ultimately an act of trust in God’s power that could work through weak human leaders. Breaking ecclesial communion was not the answer, even when disappointed by the personalities and priorities of the pope and other Church leaders.
Share the Meaning of the Mass
Fifth, Faber encouraged attentive participation in the Mass and reception of Holy Communion. Liturgy was a complex battlefield in Germany. Among churchmen and theologians, there were countless debates. Meanwhile, large numbers of laity had stopped attending Mass. Those who did, rarely received Holy Communion. Some priests celebrated Mass infrequently, or hardly ever. Protestant ideologies disparaged many Catholic liturgical practices.
In this context, Faber insisted that divine worship must be a priority for clergy, religious, and laity.26 He encouraged frequent reception of Holy Communion, while also underlining the importance of prayerful preparation and sacramental confession of grave sins.27 Laity needed inspiring preaching to help them see the beauty of the Mass. Reawakening Eucharistic faith and fervor were crucial for ecclesial reform. Faber was attentive to liturgical norms and theology, while emphasizing that interior devotion and faith in the Eucharist were the ultimate goal of his catechetical ministry.
There are certainly parallels in the contemporary situation. Many clergymen have strong opinions about the liturgy. The small percentage of lay Catholics actually attending Mass are also often vocal about their narrow liturgical preferences. Meanwhile, the vast majority of Catholics in the Western world are not regularly attending Mass or receiving Holy Communion. Saint Peter Faber’s goal of fostering belief and understanding of the Eucharistic Mystery can be a guide to those trying to discern how to rise above scrums over liturgical preferences.
Conclusion
Jesus told his disciples that “storms” would inevitably confront them in their vocation (cf. Matthew 7:24–29; Luke 6:46–49). Saint Peter Faber demonstrates how to persevere when inundated by floods of discouragement. He built his life upon a firm foundation of friendship with Jesus in prayer. Putting Jesus’ words into action, while exercising radical faith. Allowing his relationship with Jesus to stabilize him when everything around him seemed to be falling apart.
Storms of discouragement often expose the foundation on which someone has built their ministry. Saints respond to crises in the Church by relying more on Jesus than their own talents and resources. They listen more to God’s Word than outspoken ecclesial pundits.
In this way, the rains and floods of discouragement in which Church workers find themselves submerged today will purify the Church. Those who build their ministry on rock will be able to remain standing. Getting through some days might be a harrowing adventure, in which they barely manage to remain standing as they tire from being pushed about by the storms. But their perseverance will stabilize the faith of Catholics who are confused and disoriented. They will also serve as a guiding light for those not actively engaged in religion, those seasick from riding the waves of consumerism, tossed about by attempts at instant gratification, tired of endless scrolling and binging that have left much emptiness.
Thus, this is actually a very exciting time to serve the Church! A time when God will be able to pour out in great measure the gifts of apostolic boldness and courage. A time when faithful service, like that of Saint Peter Faber, can make an eternal impact which will be fully known and celebrated in the Kingdom of Heaven.
- Edmond C. Murphy and John W. Padburg, “Introduction” in The Spiritual Writings of Pierre Favre: The Memoriale and Selected Letters and Instructions (Saint Louis: The Institute of Jesuit Sources, 1996), 39. ↩
- Murphy and Padburg, “Introduction,” 40. ↩
- Murphy and Padburg, “Introduction.” ↩
- See The Spiritual Writings of Pierre Favre, 273. ↩
- For a summary of challenges of travel, see William V. Bangert, To the Other Towns, A Life of Blessed Peter Favre: First Companion of Saint Ignatius (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2002), 152. ↩
- “To Ignatius of Loyola, on Apostolic Activities in Mainz,” Martin E. Palmer, trans., in The Spiritual Writings of Pierre Favre, 339. ↩
- Severin Leitner, “The Spirituality of Peter Faber” in Review of Ignatian Spirituality (Number 109, 2005), 9–11. ↩
- See Memoriale, Edmond C. Murphy, trans., in The Spiritual Writings of Pierre Favre, §268, 222–223. ↩
- “The Spirituality of Peter Faber,” 1. ↩
- Bangert, To the Other Towns, 163. ↩
- Pope Pius IX beatified Faber in 1872. Pope Francis extended his liturgical cult to the universal church by “equivalent canonization” in 2013. See: https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2013/12/17/0849/01906.html. ↩
- Memoriale, §1, 59. ↩
- “To Gerhard Kalckbrenner, Prior of the Cologne Carthusians, on True Reform,” Martin E. Palmer, trans., in The Spiritual Writings of Pierre Favre, 345. ↩
- “To the First Jesuit Scholastics at Paris, on Studies,” trans. Martin E. Palmer, in The Spiritual Writings of Pierre Favre, 326. ↩
- Memoriale, §427, 306. ↩
- “To Diego Laínez, on Dealing with Heretics,” trans. Martin E. Palmer, in The Spiritual Writings of Pierre Favre, 379. ↩
- See “Teachings of Pierre Favre as Recorded by the Prior of the Cologne Carthusians, Gerhard Kalckbrenner,” trans. Martin E. Palmer, in The Spiritual Writings of Pierre Favre, 386. See also, Memoriale, §25, 79. ↩
- “To Diego Laínez, on Dealing with Heretics,” 380. ↩
- Memoriale, §329, 256; §330, 257. ↩
- Bangert, To the Other Towns, 291. ↩
- “To Gerhard Kalckbrenner on True Reform,” 345. ↩
- “Instructions for Those Going on Pilgrimage,” trans. Martin E. Palmer, in The Spiritual Writings of Pierre Favre, 341. ↩
- Memoriale, §21, 75–76; §118–119, 136–137; §260, 218. Faber’s teaching on devotion to angels strongly influenced Saint Francis de Sales (To the Other Towns, 329–330). ↩
- “To the First Jesuit Scholastics,” 325. ↩
- Memoriale, §265, 219. ↩
- Memoriale, §204, 189–190; §266, 220–221. ↩
- “Some Chapters on Faith and Morals,” Martin E. Palmer, trans., in The Spiritual Writings of Pierre Favre, 327; Memoriale, §223, 197; To the Other Towns, 90-91, 99–101, 110–111. ↩
About Rev. Philip Smith
Dear Rev. Smith,
This article calms my spirit that was depressed and angry over a post on the website of my parish three years ago that stated: “This is not a Catholic program” while promoting the Protestant “Alpha” Evangelization Program. My efforts to seek clarification and removal with Diocese and parish were unsuccessful. The program continues to be used in Michigan.
Also, for about one year during thus time,my parish priest used a Protestant processional cross during mass.
Saint Peter Fabar…..pray for us.
Sincerely,
Tom Showerman
Fowlerville, MI
It is very good to be reminded to place our concentration on Jesus and not on the latest Church scandals, how the liturgy is expressed at Holy Mass, or Church gossip in general which only act as distractions. We should be willing to receive frequently and in a worthy manner, the sacraments of Confession and Holy Communion. I am led to question how to strive for holiness in our present secular milieu. Reading of the challenges faced by St. Peter Faber and his attempts to face them gives me hope. Thank you for this timely article.