SEPTEMBER 14, 2018: A DAY OF PENANCE AND PRAYER
Though our hearts have been broken God’s grace has not been tainted.
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As a human being, as a parent, as a deacon, and as a Roman Catholic, I am enraged, ashamed and heartbroken by the sexual abuse scandal within our Church.My heart aches for the countless ‘holy innocents’ - the children and young people who have been, raped, violated and spiritually wounded by many evil members of our clergy.And I remember Jesus’ warning in the Gospel:
“Woe to those who cause one of these little ones who believe in me to fall away - it would be better for him if a heavy millstone were hungaround his neck and he were drowned in the depths of the sea.”
(Matthew 18:6)
My heart also goes out to the many, many members of our clergy who are good and holy men:men who are faithful to their vows, yet prejudged and stigmatized because of the Roman collar that they wear;pure and innocent men who are unjustly mocked and reviled.
I ask myself how a priest or a deacon, a man vowed to lead others to spiritual wholeness,could share the Eucharist at the altar in the morning and then violate a little soul in the afternoon?
I ask myself how a bishop, a shepherd vowed to protect his flock, could overlook and reassign a credibly accused sexual predator?
And I ask myself why am I still here in this church? Why am I still wearing these vestments? Why am I I still a Catholic?
That is a deeply personal question.The answer may be different for each of us.The reason I stay is Jesus.His message is pure; the grace that flows to each of us from his Gospel and through the Eucharist is pure.
Though our hearts have been broken, God’s grace has not been tainted.
The Church is an institution made up of human beings.Those human beings can corrupt themselves and the institution but they cannot corrupt the grace.We are called to confront and speak out against the corruption, but we are also called to embrace the grace and to let it flow through us to heal our world.
The reason we stay is for that grace,it is our connection to Jesus and to his Last Supper.Each time that we come to Mass and say ‘yes’ to the Eucharist, we are reliving that Last Supper.
The sexual abuse scandal within our Church is a shameful cross: a cross for innocent children, for young people and for their families; a cross for all of us who identify as Catholic;a cross for humanity.
Father Dan reminds us that the road to recovery and healing will be long, and that we must journey to and through Calvary, the place of the Cross.
Today is the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. It is no accident that Cardinal Tobin chose this significant day to be our Day of Penance and Prayer. I believe it is meant to be a reminder that we are never alone even in the midst of this most shameful cross.
God is with us at the center of this and every cross in life. Though our hearts have been broken, God’s grace has not been tainted.
Let us go forward in prayer to be a source of grace and healing for the victims of this shameful scandal, for their families, for our Church and for our world.
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Readers of this blog might enjoy these books by Deacon Lex. They are available on Amazon.com:
Just to Follow My Friend: Experiencing God’s Presence in Everyday Life
The Gospel of You, The Gospel of Me: Making Christ Present in Everyday Life
Synchronicity as the Work of the Holy Spirit: Jungian Insights for Spiritual Direction and Pastoral Ministry
http://www.amazon.com/Synchronicity-Work-Holy-Spirit-Spiritual/dp/1463518781/
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