The Glory Religion

In the novel The Power and The Glory by Graham Greene, he narrates the trouble of a Catholic priest who, for eight years, has continued to say Mass and administer the sacraments, even though Mexico’s government has outlawed these practices The two main characters, the priest and the lieutenant show the tension between the novel’s two overlapping themes, the spiritual theme of religious faith and devotion, and the political theme of the Church’s obligation to aid the poor. Even though punishment could be that he would be executed, the priest continues to travel town to town giving people these sacraments and preaching to them the news of God. The priest is persuaded by a nameless young lieutenant who believes that the new government can help

The priest empathizes with others who are weak because he thinks as himself as a sinner and feels compelled to fulfill his priestly duties despite the threat of execution.

This novel relates to the teachings in the textbook The Sacred Quest by Lawrence S. Cunningham and John Kelsey in numerous ways. The teachings of religion reflect the actions in ways similarly to when the priest goes to villages and preforms sacraments and provides people with calming words of God. An example of this is in Part I, Chapter 3. The priest found refuge in the Fellows’ barn. Captain Fellows, the father, returned home from work one day and learns from his wife that the priest is seeking refuge in their barn. Their daughter, Coral was questioned by the lieutenant whose sole mission at this point was to locate the priest and give him the punishment he deserved (death) because he was a practicing priest. During a conversation between the priest and Coral, Coral asks

A ritual is a ceremonial act or a repeated stylized gesture used for specific occasions. Rituals can be seen as traditions as well. Throughout the novel we see the priest preform some rituals such as sacraments and also can relate the use of wine to the communion in a Catholic Church. Although the priest may have a drinking issue he still pours a glass of wine for the people resembling the last supper for the disciples of Jesus Christ. Alcohol in the novel has two very different meanings. One of the symbols of alcohol is that it is more of a weakness of the priest. He got the name “Whisky Priest” because he turns towards alcohol more than he should. The other way it is viewed can relate to the Sacred and Profane (Cunningham and Kelsay pg 80). This is shown by the priests many attempts to obtain wine. At the beginning of the novel, Mr. Tench (the Dentist) pours the priest a glass of wine as he takes on the role of the celebrant. Another example of alcohol use and ritual is when the priest is finally out of harms way in a city called Las Casas. He encounters a woman who pleas with him to lower his fee for baptisms and hearing confessions; "We are very poor here, father... I have four children myself. Eight pesos is a lot of money" (Greene pg 167). He was charging two pesos for the baptism of a child, but this town was poor so most people couldn’t afford it. “A voice from years back said firmly