Washington’s retired Archbishop, Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, dropped by my neck of the woods recently (okay, Long Island) and spoke some sage words to the local priests.

This, from Long Island Catholic:

Showing the people good and happy priests is the best way to promote vocations, Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, retired archbishop of Washington, told a gathering of priests from the Rockville Centre and Brooklyn Dioceses last week.

“Probably the best thing you can do is smile a lot” and develop a relationship with the people that gives them a sense of hope and a connection with God, Cardinal McCarrick told graduates, students, and faculty of the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception here at the annual meeting of the seminary’s alumni association Oct. 30.

“It’s not an easy life being a priest of Jesus Christ,” Cardinal McCarrick said, but “it is a rich life. No one lives a life like a priest.” Priests, he said, can communicate that richness and the joy of service.

One priest in the audience asked how priests can cope with all “the sadness and brokenness” that a priest encounters in ministering to his people. Cardinal McCarrick agreed that facing so many people with heavy burdens can seem overwhelming, especially with the declining number of priests in active ministry.

“If you rely on yourself, you can’t do it,” Cardinal McCarrick said. “You have to rely on God.”

Though taking time out for personal prayer is difficult with all the demands on a priest’s time, he continued, cultivating a prayer life is vital for a priest to be able to offer his people the kind of joy and hope that they need.

“The people who come to you are not going to ask you about your education” or how well you have invested for your retirement, Cardinal McCarrick said. “What people want to see is someone who is comfortable with God because they want to be comfortable with God.”

In addition to his lecture, Cardinal McCarrick gave the homily at the seminary’s alumni association Mass earlier that day.

Bishop William Murphy, in introducing Cardinal McCarrick, praised him for his service to the people of the dioceses he has headed, which included Metuchen, Newark, and Washington, and his travels around the world in service to the larger Church. In addition, the bishop said, the cardinal is known for his support and kindness for his priests and for promoting priestly vocations.

Cardinal McCarrick also emphasized establishing good relationships with the people whom priests serve. He lamented the declining numbers of people receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation on a regular basis. “Confession is a great way to get to know someone.”

Yet there are other ways for a priest to establish those relationships.

“I think every priest should stand outside church after Mass, even when it’s cold,” Cardinal McCarrick said. “Maybe not when it rains,” he added, drawing laughter from the audience.

A priest once came to him, Cardinal McCarrick said, who was distressed that few people came to see him during the week, even though the priest always made himself available. The priest was skeptical when Cardinal McCarrick suggested standing outside to greet parishioners after Mass.

“I‘ll make you a bet,” Cardinal McCarrick said, that if the priest stood outside church after Mass, he would soon find that people had no trouble going to talk with him during the week.

“We see people at every point in their lives. We baptize the new babies” and celebrate first Communion with young children, when their understanding is limited, “but they know that this is a moment of great mystery and of God’s love for them.” Weddings and funerals offer opportunities to guide, encourage, and comfort.