The Power and the Glory

The whisky priest has been taken in by Mr. Lehr and his sister, German American Lutherans who reside in a less restrictive state where churches remain open. While Mr. Lehr expresses mild disapproval toward the priest’s Catholic affiliation, he and his sister generously feed and clothe their unexpected guest. The priest begins to feel guilty over his idleness and determines to say Mass in the local church before he travels on to Las Casas, another place where he feels he’ll be safe. He negotiates with the locals for his payment regarding services and baptisms. He’ll have money for clothes, travel, and a place to live.

He has stopped by the proprietor of the cantina, who offers him some sacramental wine for tomorrow’s service. They then drink some brandy together, and the priest promises to buy three more bottles for the road. Feeling generous with drink as he walks out of the bar, he tells a local man that he’ll lower the price for the baptisms. The man haggles him downward even more. That evening, the priest presides over confession in the Lehrs’ barn, amazed at the minor nature of the villagers’ sins in comparison with his own.

He’s distracted during Mass by thoughts of his journey to Las Casas.