Dear Stuart,

What has struck me over the years as I have had to travel and often enjoyed the hospitality of many diocesan priests, is the variety of situations in which they work. There are small rectories and large, old and new, in run-down neighborhoods that have seen better days with three bolts on every door and in the swankiest of suburbs; some priests have a suite, a good office, lots of help; others live and work in cramped places that seem like afterthoughts. But I have found even more striking that the external conditions are not what matter, they are many and varied, but invariable is that nine times out of ten, you always find men who are happy where they are, love their priesthood, live for their people, and give year after year of service, always on call, sharing what they have. What is amazing is not that some men live like that, but it is the vast majority of priests.

I hope this answers your question.

God bless.