The Power and the Glory - Connection to the Passion

The hot and slight wind stirs the packed dust below the soft stomp of a donkey. Not even the breeze brings relief in this heat. A silhouette of the priest is seen as it sways drunken atop the donkey slowly making its way out of town; sweat constantly beads his face knowing that the blazing sun exposes the truth – a truth he may only know – which haunts him constantly. Weighed under the anxiety over his perturbed conscience, the priest must push on and preach the only thing left in this dying world worth living for: his faith. In Graham Greene’s The Power and the Glory, Greene portraits the last priest in Mexico to have taken most of the same path as his ultimate aspiration, Jesus; the journey and behavior of both are exceedingly similar as the priest becomes wiser and his conviction stronger, when he realizes his final purpose – become a saint.

It seems with everything we set out to do, the task at hand is easier said than done, and what was setting the priest back, was himself. The biggest wall that stood before him was his own conscience. The priest was the only one who could look down a long list of things he has done wrong and shudder in remorse; continually wondering why he was the one left. Always he asked why this was, as if he would never be worthy enough for the position. Like many things, we somehow manage and overcome. A clear conscience was not the only solution; there were other barriers the priest had to hurdle as well. Siding with the government, a grisly mestizo acted as Judah did for Jesus with betrayal, but the priest saw through this hollow man, just as Jesus had. Both knew from the very beginning what was waiting for them at the end of the tunnel, there was one final obstacle they had to pass before they came to the light – death.

The priest and Jesus each had a trial for what they were accused, and both trials were as good as no trial at all. For the priest, the outcome was set from the moment he started running. While on the run, the priest stopped and gave mass and confessions just as Jesus had gone around to different towns teaching. “A man can be unwelcome even in his own home.” (pg …) And neither staid long or could do much for their home towns. The priest’s conviction was what pushed him to move on, and although it may seem like there was no one else with conviction, there was one other person who maintained it in this novel. The lieutenant had exact opposite views of the priest’s, yet it is conviction all the same. Within the story of the Passion the lieutenant was very similar to Pilot. He was driven to do this “for his people”. The lieutenant had nothing against the priest, besides the fact that he was a priest working for God. People respect those with conviction; it is those who have no opinion at all who are disgraced. Although the lieutenant respected the priest’s conviction, the final priest had to be removed.

The journey to death was long, yet straight forward for the priest just as Jesus’ was. Burdening a cross of conscience, the priest sat alone through his last sleepless night in deep prayer, and Jesus had done just the same less than two thousand years before. Padre José’s unwillingness to come and aid a fellow priest in his last night on earth was a replication of Jesus’ night in the garden. Just as Padre José had abandoned the last priest in his final time of need for comfort, Jesus’ disciples fell asleep in the garden while he was praying. Both spent their last night alone with the anxiety of knowing what they were doing for the sake of others. Aside from the fact that nothing lasts forever, the priest knew for awhile his death was soon to come, for with conviction, death is no longer a threat, it is a given.

The waiting was over, his time on earth washing away with every breath; before the shot he managed to gasp his final word “excuse—”, but there were no need for excuses, and he had none for himself. For those with conviction have no use for such defenses, their actions are deliberate and long lasting. Such decisions allowed the priest to arrive at this day. Understandably, people would view this circumstance as the worst situation to be in, yet it is simply returning. The priest, returning to God, is accepting the end, praying for acceptance. Finally he is leaving this torn, broken world behind.