Chicken Man
By Fr. Jerry Pokorsky ( bio - articles - email ) | Oct 21, 2024
Our life experiences are mostly incommunicable because other people are busy living their own lives. We often try to communicate our experiences like snapshot photos, but we fall short. Photographs need explanation.
A biography is like a movie. It places snapshots of our life experiences into an intelligible narrative for those who are interested.
The Gospels provide the biography of Jesus. Immediately preceding His public life, the Devil tempts Him in the desert. The final temptation is one that is familiar to every great leader. The Devil shows Jesus all the kingdoms of the world. He said to Him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Jesus rejects the temptation: “Begone, Satan! for it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’” (Mt. 4:8-10)
The love of personal glory is a terrible thing. The Devil was probably behind the scenes when the Apostles aspired to greatness. For those with the same aspirations, bending the knee to the Devil may seem like a small price to pay for the trappings of power.
Jesus summoned the Twelve and said, “You know that those who are supposed to rule over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you, but whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of man also came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mk. 10:42-45)
The Christian redefinition of greatness allows even the most ordinary people to be great. Great people are generous and attentive to the little things in service to others. It may take decades of experience to notice the Christian narrative. No job is too small for greatness, provided we perform our tasks with love and diligence.
Many customer-relations people are great. They are usually respectful, calm, and diligent. But we, on the other hand, are often impatient, demanding, and rude. Years ago, I saw a man in a chicken costume in front of a fried chicken restaurant. He flamboyantly waved potential customers in the direction of the establishment. He probably was a young man and wasn’t paid much for his theatrics. But he worked hard, and he was amusing. He did his silly job well. I imagine he’s a proprietor of a franchise of chicken restaurants today.
We can learn about leadership from accomplished military leaders. They are demanding but grow in greatness because they tend to the little things. A retired fleet admiral said he surrounded himself with officers who shared the same mission. He identified assistants who were competent in various technical disciplines. He sought their advice and carefully listened to their views. He shunned yes-men sycophants like the false prophets in the Old Testament. He delegated duties, but no job was too small.
A young person aspiring to greatness could follow the example of accomplished military leaders, chicken men, and customer-relations representatives. Do your best in entry-level job positions. In the 1990s, when I was a young priest, agencies in the Church were retranslating the Mass into English. Their plans were subversive. They didn’t like words such as “holy,” “spirit,” “merit,” “man,” and even “father.” (Do you remember when they translated Et cum spiritu tuo“ as “And also with you”?) Back then the politically correct translators shunned male pronouns, except when referring to Satan.
Along with several other priests, I started an organization promoting the accurate translation of the Sacred Liturgy using standard English. We enlisted the support of 2000 priests. Many bishops and the Vatican listened to our concerns. We contributed to the cause by offering accurate alternatives to the ideological translations. After many delays, the Vatican released an exemplary translation of the Mass in 2011.
Early in the process, we held a conference of Latinists to translate portions of the Mass for bishops to consider. I wasn’t a translator; I was a paperclip: good at administration, so I organized the gathering. Among the participants was Father Joseph Fessio, SJ, the distinguished head of outfit Ignatius Press. He had studied under three of the greatest theological minds of the 20th century—Henri de Lubac, Hans Urs von Balthasar, and Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI).
I met Father Fessio shortly before the conference as I assembled paperwork for the participants. I was alone. Father Fessio arrived early and immediately offered to assist me with my mundane duties. Time was short, and I needed the help; he didn’t think of himself as too prominent a person to handle a stapler. This wasn’t an isolated act of generosity. Later I visited Ignatius Press and observed how Father Fessio similarly worked with his staff—an intact staff to this day.
Father Fessio designed the Catholic Great Books program at the University of San Francisco and pioneered the most prolific Catholic publishing house in the English-speaking world. But no job was too small for him. He pitched in where he was needed and earned the loyalty of his employees. His recent biography by mentor and historian Father Cornelius Buckley, S.J. (Father Joseph Fessio, S.J., California Blackrobe) is an entertaining (sometimes hilarious) and unsentimental read.
The chapter on Father Fessio’s experiences at Ave Maria University is honest and respectful of those who share his vision. Father Fessio is not a yes-man. Father Fessio has the greatness of a military leader, a customer-relations representative, and that chicken man.
The staff served supper on the evening of my visit to Ignatius Press, after a long and arduous day. Roxanne, a hard-working staff member, fed us. When I marveled at her unassuming generosity, she replied, “I’ve come to serve.” The dedication of Father Fessio’s staff poses this question: Did Father Fessio influence them, or did they influence him?
You decide. Buy the book and watch the Fessio movie. Bring popcorn and a glass of California wine.
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