Students of different levels of ESO and Batxillerat asked some questions to Xavier, the Catholic priest of the church in La Llagosta. We thank him for agreeing to come to our school.
Presentation
Xavier has been priest for three years and now he’s the new priest of the church in la Llagosta. He’s been in this town for two months. He’s 37 years old and he was born near la Llagosta, in Martorelles.
He studied to be an architect but when he was 27 years old he decided to enter the seminar to become a priest.
His education
Student: Why did you decide to be a priest?
Priest: I just felt the need to devote my life to religion, to God, like when you fall in love. You don’t chose it. It just happens.
Student: What did you study to become a priest? When did you study?
Priest: I studied two years of philosophy and three years of theology.
Student: Have you ever been to the Vatican?
Priest: Yes, I’ve been to the Vatican twice and once in Rome.
Student: Do you believe in the devil? Why?
Priest: Yes, I do. It’s obvious that’s there’s evil in everyday life. That’s the devil, not the red monster with horns and a tail.
Student: Do you believe in the Theory of Evolution? Do we come from apes?
Priest: Yes, I believe in the Theory of Evolution. We have to interpret the Bible to understand it., not just read it literally.
Daily work in his congregation
Student: What time do you get up in the morning?
Priest: I usually get up at seven.
Student: Do you offer mass every day?
Priest: Yes, I say mass every day, at 7.30 in the evening.
Student: How many times a day do you offer mass?
Priest: I usually say mass once a day, but there’re also special days when I have two (when someone dies, for example). On Sundays I say mass four times.
Student: What do you do with the money you collect from the church box?
Priest: We give it to charity or make reparations for the church. We also have to pay taxes.
Student: Don’t you get bored of saying the same thing every day?
Priest: I don’t say the same things every day. I read different parts of the Bible in every mass.
Student: Could you offer the mass in Latin?
Priest: Yes, I could. I like classical religious music, and it is usually in Latin. That way I learned Latin faster. I have more problems with Hebrew and Greek.
Student: Do you need any preparation before saying mass?
Priest: Yes, I have to prepare the sermon and make the necessary preparations for certain ceremonies, like baptisms, for example.
Student: Do you teach? Who are your students?
Priest: No, I’m going to classes at the moment to get my master’s degree. I go there in the morning.
Student: What activities does your parish organize?
Priest: Baptisms, burials and other celebrations, as well as the teaching of catechism. We also give assistance to poor people.
Student: Do priests have free days? When?
Priest: We should have, in theory. Monday morning is usually our “free time”, but it depends. You might be needed. You take your time off when you think it’s suitable.
Student: What kind of clothes do you usually wear?
Priest: I usally wear ordinary clothes.
Student: Why do priests wear a clerical collar?
Priest: I’m not wearing it now, but I like to wear it to show I’m a priest, in Lourdes, for example. Someone might need a priest and they can spot me easily with the clerical collar.
Student: Do you watch TV? What do you watch?
Priest: Now I don’t watch TV because I don’t have antenna in my building. However, I didn’t watch it very often before: the news at lunch time and in the evening, that’s all. I also like the Simpsons!
Student: Do you surf the internet?
Priest: Yes, I do, but I’m not very good at computers. I’ve just learnt to upload my picture on Facebook.
Student: Who cooks for you?
Priest: Nobody does. I love cooking. I do it myself.
Student: Do priests get retired? What do you do then?
Priest: We don’t really ever retire. When you’re 75 years old, you are not in charge of a big parish, but you can still offer mass.
Young people’s interest in religious beliefs
Student: Do young people go to church less often than in the past?
Priest: Of course. In Franco’s times, it was an obligation to go to church. Now it’s up to you. Most of the children do their first communion and then they never go to church On the other hand, teenagers who decide to go, are criticized by their classmates. They’re seen as weird people. Now Christians who practice their religion are persecuted (not accepted by their equals), as they were in the origin of Christianism! Young people are not offered a religious education.
Muslim people get stranged with Christians because we don't go to our churches and pray.
Questions about rites
Student How do you explain that most of the rituals or Christian festivities are celebrated on the same days as the pagan rituals?
Priest: I think it’s not most of the rituals, just two or three. Christmas is one of them. It coincides with the winter solstice, when the sun starts to “grow” (the days get longer). Jesus is seen as the light, the sun that is born.
Student: Why do the kings give the newborn Jesus gold, incense and myrrh?
Priest: These were presents given to kings and Jesus was the king of kings. Myrrh represented death, as he was going to die for us.
Student: When did Easter start to be celebrated?
Priest: Easter has always been celebrated, since the death of Christ. Christmas celebration started four centuries later.
Student: Can you explain to us why Easter is on different dates every year? How can we know when Easter is going to be celebrated the following year?
Priest: Easter changes according to the moon calendar, with the first full moon of spring.
Student: why is baptism so important?
Priest: because it’s the first ceremony in church for that person.
Student: What is confirmation? What do the ashes mean?
Priest: ashes represent death.
Student: What is the origin of the prohibition of eating meat on Friday?
Priest: fasting is very common in all the religions. In the past, meat was expensive to buy. The idea was that people gave the money to the poor instead of buying meat on Fridays.
Questions about important ethical issues in society today
Student: What do you think about abortion?
Priest: We don’t say “no” to abortion. We say “yes” to life. All life comes from God, so only God can decide.
Student: Do you think that women should have the right to decide whether to have children or not?
Priest: What about the baby’s rights? We don’t have the right to finish with anybody’s life.
Student: How would you react if you saw a couple of men or women kissing each other in the street?
Priest: I don’t have any problems with homosexual. As a matter of fact, some of my friends are homosexual. They’re normal people, and so the church has to accept them.
Student: Do you agree with the marriage of homosexual couples?
Priest: For the church, marriage is the union between a man and a woman.
Student: Would you accept to marry a homosexual couple?
Priest: The church doesn’t accept homosexual unions, so I can’t marry two homosexuals.
Student: Are the methods of contraception useful for society? What methods do you approve of? Why?
Priest: I think the important thing is education and teaching teenagers to respect people., not just telling everybody to use condoms. There’re lots of young girls who are getting pregnant today. Sometimes sex starts too early. Some teenagers are having sexual relationships at 12.
Student: What do you think about immigration?
Priest: Lots of poor people who come to us for help are immigrants, that’s true. They go to church more often than Spanish people.
