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Archives Simple acts of love

Nov. 4, 2015

By Amanda Conklin
Staff writer

One of my best friends is a priest. Not many 28 year olds in our secular culture can say that. I’ve known Father Scott Belina for 10 years and it has been a joy to watch him grow as a person, say yes to God in his vocation as a priest, and now flourish in parish life.

I’ve been blessed to have Father Scott administer my grandfather his last rites as he spent his last few moments on earth, and also been blessed to have him baptize my first born child only a few months later.

Father Scott has a special place in our family, even earning a spot on the VIP list for my mom’s famousBelina strawberry jam each summer.

I recently was privileged to see him “in action”, performing his priestly duties on a trip to Philadelphia to see Pope Francis. Many think that the life of a priest is boring, cushy even. This is far from the truth. Although Father Scott did get a special seat in the priest section for the Francis Festival while in Philadelphia, these perks of the job are much deserved.

On Sunday as we sat and waited in front of City Hall for Mass to begin on one of the big screens around Philly, a small group of fundamentalist Christian protesters filtered into our area. They had huge megaphone speakers and large signs that said things like “The Pope is the Antichrist” and “Call no man ‘Father;.”

We were trying to ignore them but as I stood next to Father Scott, one of the protesters noticed his collar and identified him as a Catholic priest. He began to target him, calling him terrible things in front of this large crowd of thousands. My adrenaline was pumping and my instinct to protect a friend kicked in. I started to get angry. All eyes were on him, students stood waiting to see what would happen.

Instead of getting angry, turning his back on them, or ignoring them, Father Scott simply held the man’s eye contact lovingly and blessed the group of protesters. In that moment I saw Christ’s love shining so clearly through my friend. One of the most beautiful things about this tense encounter was the opportunity to show Christ’s love that came out of it.

Standing next to Father Scott, and unbeknownst to us was a man who was not Catholic. He remarked how the acts of the protesters were “not love” and affirmed Father Scott. This man was able to witness the love of a priest in a simple act.

It is not easy being a priest. Many things are assumed of you simply because you are a priest. It takes a lot of love and self sacrifice to live the vocation of the priesthood.

There was a second time where Father Scott’s dedication to his vocation was demonstrated on this trip. As we were on our way back home to the North Country on a bus with 41 college students, we made a brief rest stop in Allentown. Exhausted after walking over 4 miles with all our belongings on our backs, we dragged ourselves into the rest area for a quick bathroom break and to stretch our legs.

While headed back to the bus, someone stopped Father Scott and Father Bryan Stitt and told them that an elderly woman had just fallen off another tour bus and was bleeding and hurt badly. Without hesitation, Father Scott leapt into action to anoint the woman. We realized that even though he had just walked so far, was sweaty, tired, and hungry, Father Scott was carrying his oils with him and beautifully performed his duties as a priest.

Father Scott also works hard to support his friends’ vocations. He affirms my vocation as a wife and mom, always remembering to send my husband and me a card on our wedding anniversary.

Every once in a while you find what I like to call a “soul friend.” A soul friend is someone who you connect with on more than a shallow level. It is someone who “gets it” and wants to help you journey closer to God, because ultimately they’d like you to be there partying in heaven with them.

St. Francis DeSales said: “there is nothing on this earth more to be prized than true friendship.”How blessed am I to call many priests close friends, including Father Scott Belina.

Let us all pray for strength for the priests in our lives and pray for more young faithful men to follow the call to the radical love that is the Catholic priesthood.

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