"Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life."
The Word for Sunday: http://usccb.org/bible/readings/082618.cfm
John 6: 60-69
Our Gospel this Sunday, as we close our reflections on the Holy
Eucharist according to John the Evangelist, bring us to a very crucial question
that must have caused Jesus great anxiety and disappointment. He has completed his commentary on what
seemed like a great scandal to his disciples (not the twelve) about his literal
desire that, “unless you eat the flesh of
the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.”
He was not speaking metaphorically but literally. The early
Christians saw in this the words of the Spirit, which Jesus refers to this
week, and they knew that the bread they broke together and the wine they shared
was truly Christ in their midst. The
same is true for us. Yet, the crowds
around Jesus, as we hear this Sunday, took his words only in an earthly
sense. They said: “This saying is hard; who can accept it?”
Jesus then explains that his words are Spirit and life. That his words are inviting those who hear
them to see a new, spiritual reality where God has entered our fallen world,
raised it up, and now dwells among us in the true spiritual presence of the Eucharist,
under signs of bread and wine. In one
sense it is not there for us to fully understand, it is mystery, but for us to
be grateful and humbled by our Lord’s profound act of mercy.
Still, sadly, “many of
his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied
him.” In desperation he turns to his
own trusted twelve and asks if they also want to leave. Peter, on behalf of the group states
essentially, “Where else can we go? You have words of promise, hope and eternal
life.”
Will you leave me too? Many these days have been shaken by the
shocking news referring to a Grand Jury report from Pennsylvania concerning the
violation of the innocent children and youth by several hundreds of priests who
abused them sexually over a span of seventy years! My stomach turns at the thought of such a
thing. I feel righteous anger; anger in the face of deep injustice, abuse of power, shame, the suffering of the innocent. I am confused and feel I want to just hide as a priest who has, not been perfect, but has always tried my best to be faithful. I share with you such feelings and I know my brother priests feel the same. Although these Pennsylvania cases are old cases, not
new ones being reported, they still call us to repentance, prayer and
conversion. Why it took so long to report these cases from the 1950's on forward is a mystery.
In addition we are well aware that a now former (thankfully) Cardinal
of the Church had been involved in a cover up and egregious behavior with youth
and seminarians for a span of years where he engaged in homosexual activity and
clearly abused his power and ecclesial authority to gain advantage over the
powerless. This is now a call to the
Shepherds, our Bishops, in the Church to begin policing themselves by engaging
an outside board to call themselves to task as priests these days have
been. Our Bishop’s the vast majority of
whom are faithful shepherds, must face the truth that some among them have
strayed far away from the spirit of the Apostles and allowed evil to spread. It’s
all sickening and a horrendous indication of evil, sinful and criminal behavior
of the past that has now come to light. Such behavior has no place in the life of the Church and absolutely can never be offered to destroy the lives of the innocent ever again!
Many have suffered because of this but no class of folks have
suffered greater than the former children/youth now adults who were
victimized. As our Holy Father put it
eloquently in his recent “Letter to the People of God”: “Crimes that inflict deep wounds of pain and powerlessness, primarily
among the victims, but also in their family members and in the larger community
of believers and nonbelievers alike. . . The pain of the victims and their families
is also our pain, and so it is urgent that we once more reaffirm our commitment
to ensure the protection of minors and of vulnerable adults . . .”
To heal the sick, raise the dead, bring comfort to the
afflicted, to gather the lost and rejected is at the heart of Jesus’ public
ministry. This is the mission he has
entrusted to his Church of which we are all members. And so, we must and will continue to invite
the wounded to healing and comfort. In
response, the Church already has and will continue to do much more to create a
culture in which this will never, absolutely never happen again. Our Bishop’s now have this directly in their
hands and it is only right that our Shepherds be accountable for their
Episcopal ministry.
In the end, what can we do? “To whom shall we go?” So much ink
has been used, public speeches made, articles written on the “mea culpa” the
Church must do and the actions that are presently being designed from the Pope
on down.
Let’s not forget that the Good News that Christ brought us is
still the same good news that must be preached and lived. What has happened is NOT the mission of the
Church, it is NOT what Jesus commissioned the Apostles to do, it is NOT what
the Priesthood or the Order of Bishop is about, and it certainly is NOT why
Jesus died and rose to save us!
All must stay to be part of the renewal of the Church. To support and pray for the thousands of good
and faithful priests and good Bishops among us.
Christ is allowing his Church to be purified and we can only help by our
faithfulness to bring that about fully.
God is love indeed and in the midst of what might seem defeat
we must see victory and hope. That is
the Christian message and it is why Jesus came.
The Evil One is the only one who is rejoicing at this, the signs of his
work are clear, still we know that he has lost.
Follow Christ, stay in his Church, be part of the solution, and see that
there is still much goodness, love, and life around us.
Purification is not easy, it can be painful, but we too must
reach out to the suffering for that is always our number one priority. One sign of concrete hope that indicates to
me the continued work of the Holy Spirit in the midst of this is the several
calls I’ve gotten these past two weeks from various people desiring to come
back to the Church after a long absence.
They feel this is the time to return! I am somewhat amazed and grateful
that the work of the Holy Spirit is so active so soon.
Yes, they want to return, not run away! At the same time, we have for this
Archdiocese ten new seminarians this year.
That’s not just a trickle from a team who feels defeated.
“The words I have spoken to
you are Spirit and life.”
Jesus is calling us to surround with compassion the suffering victims of
this darkness but to also bring light and hope to our world.
God always wins in the end and we are privileged to be members
of his community.
"Lord Jesus, you healed the sick:
Lord, have mercy
Christ Jesus, you forgave sinners:
Christ, have mercy
Lord Jesus, you gave yourself to heal us
and bring us strength:
Lord, have mercy"
May almighty God, have mercy on us,
heal the suffering innocent victims,
forgive us our sins,
and bring us to eternal life.
