I grew my first beard around 1972 when I was the Associate Pastor at St. Mildred Church in Somerset, Kentucky. I had just returned from my first back-packing trip to Taize, France, with some of the young adults from the parish and surrounding community.
The late 1960s and early 1970s was the very beginning of priests growing beards and letting their hair grow long. I was a little bit more than nervous letting my parishioners know about my new beard so I waited till the last minute to walk up the aisle for Mass when I got home from Taize. On the way up the aisle, I could hear people sucking in air in horror as I passed by them.
It was after Mass that I overheard my first reaction. I was standing at the door greeting people, when I heard two old ladies discussing my new beard. The first one asked the other one, "Isn't that beard disgusting?" The second one answered, "Well, Saint Francis had a beard!" The first one responded indignantly and in a huff, "Well, he's certainly no Saint Francis!"
I have always thought that one was funny! I am glad that I haven't over-heard most of the critical remarks, but there are still two such events that I am confused about. (1) I was standing at the door after Mass one Sunday when a man walked up to me and hissed, "You ought to be ashamed of yourself!" I presumed that he was talking about something he didn't like about my homily, but I wasn't sure and he left me no time to ask. I am still not for sure even to this day! (2) One day, I was standing at the door after Mass and a woman shook my hand vigorously and said, "Great homily, Father!" and walked on! Normally, I would have been grateful for the compliment, but that Sunday the Associate Pastor had given the homily, not me! I guess it was just another case of "good old Father what's-his-name?"
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