Letters from Stalingrad

Anthony Beevor's Stalingrad is considered one of the great works of the German advance on the city on the Volga, the subsequent fighting in the city and then the brilliant encirclement of Paulus' Sixth Army by the Soviet Army, which was planned and executed by Zhukov.

In the book Beevor captures the atmosphere of the German and Soviet troops. How both armies vacillate between euphoria and desolation. It is best of all recalled in the letters the troops sent back to their loved ones, especially their wives.

The letters that manage to get through the censor express the feelings of men, telling their wives what life is like, in the case of the German troops, 4,000 kms away from Germany. The depth of feeling, warmth and love is palpable.

Human love is a great gift from God. The rule of celibacy allows many priests to discover a love that is supernatural. But surely it is a rare gift and is it possible that it can be developed and nurtured by all priests, especially when there seems to be so little care and real inter-communicative dialogue which is truly life supporting and positive.

Both within dioceses and religious orders there seems to be a great need for support and honest dialogue between superiors/bishops and priests and among priests themselves.

Of course there are people who get on fine, men who are truly holy. But how many men are left to languish? Yes, that happens all through society, but priesthood is meant to be at the cutting edge of love and excitement. Is it?

It is better to see the glass half full than half empty and priesthood is a great calling.

A question; how often does a bishop/superior sit down with his individual priests and talk and listen openly and truthfully, away from the games and cliches?

Instead, the common advice on the ground is to keep quiet, tell your bishop/superior nothing, play the game, get some sort of silly promotion. And keep the system going, even when anyone with a head on his of her shoulders knows it is all imploding around them.