H/T Colleen
Divine Mercy via Wikipedia
It’s time once again to join the Catholic bloggers atSunday Snippets – A Catholic Carnival, hosted by RAnn of This, That and the Other Thing fame. Read, enjoy and join the fun by sharing your posts, RAnn shows you the ropes here.
Here are my snippets :
Matt13 :3 Parable of the Sower
I want to be the Lord’s flower,
Perfect in every way.
God has favored even the lowly weed with beauty.Look on me, the ragged tare,
To fashion a blossom
According to Your way.
©2011 Joann Nelander All rights reserved
Matt28:20 I Am With You Always
I woke up with God today.
He was with me,
And I smiled.I am smiling still,
For in His Presence,
I seem to glow,
On the inside, of course.I hug Christ to me, all gratitude.
Being flighty like a bird,
Anxious to take to wing,
Precisely, because my spirit soars,
I count the grace of moment, a treasure,
and tuck it ‘neath my pinions.Once aloft on wings of love,
I may be distracted,
Attracted by His good creation,
Or attacked by jealous gods,
Envying His majesty,
And hating His Intimacy
With so lowly a creature.My God, thank You,
For this favor in Time,
That I may be refreshed,
And readied for Eternity,
Where I shall never
Lose sight of You.Steel me, O Immanuel.
Sharpen my vision,
To see You with me always,
In Your hidden Presence
Within my soul.©2011 Joann Nelander All rights reserved
Oklahoma passes ‘pain-capable’ restrictions on abortion :: EWTN News.
Gov. Mary Fallin of Oklahoma signed a pro-life measure into law, April 20, making it illegal to abort unborn children after 20 weeks of gestation because they are capable of feeling pain. The bill goes into effect November 1, 2011.
“States are recognizing that they have an interest in, and obligation to, protecting unborn children from pain,” said Mary Spaulding Balch, the director of state legislation for National Right to Life Committee.
The Oklahoma bill, titled the “Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act,” states that “Pain receptors… are present throughout the unborn child’s entire body by no later than sixteen…weeks after fertilization and nerves link these receptors to the brain’s thalamus and subcortical plate by no later than twenty…weeks.”
Once this link is made, the bill argues, the necessary and sufficient conditions for pain have been met. The law states, “After twenty… weeks, the unborn child reacts to stimuli that would be recognized as painful if applied to an adult,” and for this reason the state has a compelling interest in protecting the unborn child.
Read more: http://www.ewtnnews.com/catholic-news/US.php?id=3075#ixzz1KpM4yyW1
I have known the healing of God.
Christ is alive!
We are the extension of Christ
Beyond His Death,
Christ to the world, Immanuel.The days after the Resurrection,
The Church was living
That which they would one day write – Good News!
The nascent Church would tell the story
Throughout the centuries.
No myth – reality!
Sinking in, and living again
In the people called by His name.In some-the truth of the Truth of the Resurrection
Would take hold more slowly-
Like those visited over the course of the 50 days
Between the Resurrection and the commission
To go out to all the world and tell.In some- the truth of the Truth of the Resurrection
Would seize them, immediately,
Like the Magdalene.
Jesus said no more than, “Mary.”
Has He called your name?The Spirit was given by Jesus,
Not as an afterthought or a symbol,
But, as a necessity, God with us!The Church would not be led by whim
Or compromise with the world,
But by God. the Spirit,
Remaining with it throughout Time,
Equipping it for Eternity, one day at a time.What matter can survive Time and dissolution?
Only that, which is raised from the dead.
“All creation waits on tip toe,
For the revelation of the sons of God.”We are made for eternity,
Though formed in time.
Only in Christ is matter made Eternal,
Though changed by the Divine,
To take the leap into the holy,
The wholly healed, and resurrected,
Conquering death in one All Holy Name.This is Easter, the Day God has made,
And Christ is this New Day,
The Dayspring of God,
Sprung forth from the Tomb,
Setting captives free,
A new beginning for Adam and Eve.©2011 Joann Nelander All rights reserved
One Shot Wednesday – It’s that time again! Here’s my one shot for Easter Week.
Courts of Praise
Thank you, my Lord, for my life long,
For beloved family and friends,
And all dear hearts touching mine.My treasure trove of souls
Spills far beyond my time
To number as my own
Those who have gone before,
Your saints of ages past,
The cloud of witnesses on high
And pure angelic beings
In realms veiled from the eye.There never was a day
In which I was alone,
Nor forgotten
Before Your throne.There, at Your feet,
All heaven sweet anthems raise,
To set celestial hearts ablaze.
My heart, in chorus,
Swells, dilating in love,
Grown great in gratitude.Beside Your All Love,
I make small return.
You count my debt as paid,
And bid me enter courts of praise.Copyright Joann Nelander © 2011 All rights reserved.
Standing invitation to visit One Stop Poetry- Where Poets, Writers and Artists Meet.
It will cheer you, lift your spirits, brighten your mood. It goes a long way in stealing you away from the ho-hum humdrum. There is so much talent on display.
All I can do is remain faithful,
When You are no where to be found.
You made promises,
And I answered, ”I believe.”Now, I am left with my belief,
Bereft of vision.
Only memory sustains me.I remember You,
And our days of love.
The world stole in with lies.
I would not listen.
The world would not relent.It, too, made promises,
Promises it could not keep.
They, though, were sweet,
But always somewhere
Vinegar, an aftertaste.I learned to discern,
To seek the light.
To fight the war with Faith,
Burnishing the Spirit sword,
And to wait.I wait now.
I wait still.
I resolve to wait forever, if need be,
When You are no where to be found.You made promises
And I answered, “I believe.”
Your grace – that I still do!©2011 Joann Nelander All rights reserved
..”that we may love you our God become man with all our hearts
by faith here on earth and face-to-face in that eternal Easter Sunday for which we were made.” Fr. John Hardon, SJ
Conclusion of a conference presented by Fr. John Hardon, SJ – “No Stopping Abortion Without the Eucharist”We began this conference with a title: There is No Stopping Abortion Without the Eucharist. We conclude where we began. There is no stopping abortion except through the devoted faith of professed Catholics who are apostles of the Blessed Sacrament. Our frequency of assisting at mass, our devotion in attending mass, our frequency and fervor in receiving Holy Communion and on being completely detached from everything that could weaken our love for God.
Let me be as clear as I can. We receive as much grace from Holy Communion as our will are detached from everything, everything, everything in this world. That is why I have said so often, suffering is such a treasure. Such a blessing from God. Because through suffering God weans our wills from the creatures in our lives. Our devotion to the Blessed Sacrament through Eucharistic Adoration (but hear it) and Eucharistic petition. All of these are divinely provided means of not just stopping abortion, we shall be cultivating a respect for human life such as the world has never known. Ours is the most murderous century in human history.
As believing lovers of the Holy Eucharist we are to make the next century the most self-giving and self-sacrificing century since Jesus offered His first Mass. Which is as we know began at the Last Supper on Holy Thursday night and ended on Calvary on the first Good Friday.
Lord Jesus Christ really present in the Holy Eucharist
You want to convert the millions who are behind the worldwide homicide in our day.
You want to convert these murderers. You want to use us as the channels of your grace.
Give us dear Jesus, a deep, deep faith in your Real Presence and a total detachment to
everything in this world so that we may love you our God become man with all our hearts
by faith here on earth and face-to-face in that eternal Easter Sunday for which we were made.Hail Mary full of grace the Lord is with thee,
Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus.
Holy Mary Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen
Mary Mother of God – Pray for us.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
We are just a speck and yet God loves us and gave us minds that we might know just how much we don’t know and yet, that is.
It’s time once again to join the Catholic bloggers at Sunday Snippets – A Catholic Carnival, hosted by RAnn of This, That and the Other Thing fame. Read, enjoy and join the fun by sharing your posts, RAnn shows you the ropes here.
Here are my snippets :
Click here for a free download of Adolfo Maes’ “Christ and the Children”
From the Catecheses by Saint John Chrysostom, bishop
The power of Christ’s blood
If we wish to understand the power of Christ’s blood, we should go back to the ancient account of its prefiguration in Egypt. “Sacrifice a lamb without blemish,” commanded Moses, “and sprinkle its blood on your doors.” If we were to ask him what he meant, and how the blood of an irrational beast could possibly save men endowed with reason, his answer would be that the saving power lies not in the blood itself, but in the fact that it is a sign of the Lord’s blood. In those days, when the destroying angel saw the blood on the doors he did not dare to enter, so how much less will the devil approach now when he sees, not that figurative blood on the doors, but the true blood on the lips of believers, the doors of the temple of Christ.
If you desire further proof of the power of this blood, remember where it came from, how it ran down from the cross, flowing from the Master’s side. The gospel records that when Christ was dead, but still hung on the cross, a soldier came and pierced his side with a lance and immediately there poured out water and blood. Now the water was a symbol of baptism and the blood, of the holy Eucharist. The soldier pierced the Lord’s side, he breached the wall of the sacred temple, and I have found the treasure and made it my own. So also with the lamb: the Jews sacrificed the victim and I have been saved by it.
“There flowed from his side water and blood.” Beloved, do not pass over this mystery without thought; it has yet another hidden meaning, which I will explain to you. I said that water and blood symbolised baptism and the holy Eucharist. From these two sacraments the Church is born: from baptism, “the cleansing water that gives rebirth and renewal through the Holy Spirit,” and from the holy Eucharist. Since the symbols of baptism and the Eucharist flowed from his side, it was from his side that Christ fashioned the Church, as he had fashioned Eve from the side of Adam Moses gives a hint of this when he tells the story of the first man and makes him exclaim: “Bone from my bones and flesh from my flesh!” As God then took a rib from Adam’s side to fashion a woman, so Christ has given us blood and water from his side to fashion the Church. God took the rib when Adam was in a deep sleep, and in the same way Christ gave us the blood and the water after his own death.
Do you understand, then, how Christ has united his bride to himself and what food he gives us all to eat? By one and the same food we are both brought into being and nourished. As a woman nourishes her child with her own blood and milk, so does Christ unceasingly nourish with his own blood those to whom he himself has given life.
One Shot Wednesday – Here we go again!
Flower in the Sun
Make me as a flower in sun and rain.
May I, as by nature, turn to follow You
In Your course throughout my life.Let Your holy, healing waters
Penetrate my being
As roots, planted securely,
In Your Providential soil
Drink of Your constant streams.As it is Your nature to water and supply,
May I by Rebirth,
Unfurl my gowns
To Solomon’s delight.Copyright Joann Nelander © 2011 All rights reserved.
Standing invitation to visit One Stop Poetry- Where Poets, Writers and Artists Meet.
It will cheer you, lift your spirits, brighten your mood. It goes a long way in stealing you away from the ho-hum humdrum. There is so much talent on display.
Christ and the Children by Adolfo Maes and illustrated by Joann Nelander. This children’s book will inspire and also keep you singing and feeling great!
Book available.
It’s time once again to join the Catholic bloggers at Sunday Snippets – A Catholic Carnival, hosted by RAnn of This, That and the Other Thing fame. Read, enjoy and join the fun by sharing your posts, RAnn shows you the ropes here.
Here are my snippets :
I experience the Trinity in knowing.
May They, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
Experience me as a kiss.©JoannNelander 2011 All rights reserved.
I bathe my whole life
In the Blood of Christ.In Spirit, I place my Soul,
In the form of a new born,
In the water that flowed
From the Side of Jesus,
At the piecing
Of His most Sacred Heart.O Holy Bath, flow over me.
Flow within me,
Permeating even
To the marrow of my bones.Embrace my thoughts.
As a river in flood,
Envelope all in Your path.
Possess all.
Carry the delinquent and wayward,
As a torrent,
To the ever peaceful Mind of Christ,
Redeeming and reconciling opposites.May the Christ,
As a priestly chrism,
Penetrate the mundane of me,
And divinate my being.
Heal forever my disparity,
Remove all trace
Of Sin’s dominion and damage.O Holy Love, at Your insistence,
I trust in You.Coming forth from this bath,
Dry me, Your child,
As tears upon Your cheek
to honor all the tears
You shed for want of me.Be solace to my regret .
Be comfort in my sorrow.
Wrap me, in my infancy,
In the heart of the Mother,
Whose Immaculate Heart
Longed with You to birth me anew,
And enflesh me as child.Sweet Peace, O Holy Peace,
You are All in All.
I, a child of God, will thank You
For all Eternity
In Triune embrace,
A happy word, whispered in Spirit,
From the Son to the Father.© Joann Nelander 2011 All rights reserved
From a sermon by Pope St Leo the Great
| In praise of charity |
|---|
In John’s gospel the Lord says: By this love you have for one another, everyone will know you are my disciples. In a letter by John we read: My dear people, let us love one another since love comes from God and everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Anyone who fails to love can never have known God, because God is love.So the faithful should look into themselves and carefully examine their minds and the impulses of their hearts. If they find some of the fruits of love stored in their hearts then they must not doubt God’s presence within them, but to make themselves more and more able to receive so great a guest they should do more and more works of durable mercy and kindness. After all, if God is love, charity should know no limit, for God himself cannot be confined within limits.What is the appropriate time for performing works of charity? My beloved children, any time is the right time, but these days of Lent provide a special encouragement. Those who want to be present at the Lord’s Passover in holiness of mind and body should seek above all to win this grace. Charity contains all other virtues and covers a multitude of sins.As we prepare to celebrate that greatest of all mysteries, by which the blood of Jesus Christ destroyed our sins, let us first of all make ready the sacrificial offerings — that is, our works of mercy. What God in his goodness has already given to us, let us give it to those who have sinned against us.And to the poor also, and to those who are afflicted in various ways, let us show a more open-handed generosity so that God may be thanked through many voices and the needy may be fed as a result of our fasting. No act of devotion on the part of the faithful gives God more pleasure than the support that is lavished on his poor. Where God finds charity with its loving concern, there he recognises the reflection of his own fatherly care.Do not be put off giving by a lack of resources. A generous spirit is itself great wealth, and there can be no shortage of material for generosity where it is Christ who feeds and Christ who is fed. His hand is present in all this activity: his hand, which multiplies the bread by breaking it and increases it by giving it away.When you give alms, do not be anxious but full of happiness. The greatest treasure will go to the one who has kept the least for himself. The holy apostle Paul tells us: He who provides seed for the sower will give bread for food, provide you with more seed, and increase the harvest of your goodness, in Christ Jesus our Lord, who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit for ever and ever. Amen.
One Shot Wednesday – Time again to read and write. Let the fun begin!
Here’s my one shot:
The Banquet
You who eat to gladden your gut,
You who indulge to comfort the flesh,
Come to a true banquet!Rejoice your spirit,
Give joy to your soul.
Fatten your prayer on faith.Let words ravish the Heart of God.
Even words unspoken, but burning in your heart,
Call angels to your side.Quiet the world, by stepping apart,
Still your flesh in earnest fast,
Widen the breath of your praise.The majesty of God inclines to your lips,
For it is He, Who has promised.
Whisper and He smiles.Copyright Joann Nelander © 2011 All rights reserved.
Standing invitation to visit One Stop Poetry- Where Poets, Writers and Artists Meet.
It will cheer you, lift your spirits, brighten your mood. It goes a long way in stealing you away from the ho-hum humdrum. There is so much talent on display.
From a commentary on the psalms by Saint Augustine, bishop
Jesus Christ prays for us and in us and is the object of our prayers
God could give no greater gift to men than to make his Word, through whom he created all things, their head and to join them to him as his members, so that the Word might be both Son of God and son of man, one God with the Father, and one man with all men. The result is that when we speak with God in prayer we do not separate the Son from him, and when the body of the Son prays it does not separate its head from itself: it is the one Saviour of his body, our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who prays for us and in us and is himself the object of our prayers.
He prays for us as our priest, he prays in us as our head, he is the object of our prayers as our God.
Let us then recognise both our voice in his, and his voice in ours. When something is said, especially in prophecy, about the Lord Jesus Christ that seems to belong to a condition of lowliness unworthy of God, we must not hesitate to ascribe this condition to one who did not hesitate to unite himself with us. Every creature is his servant, for it was through him that every creature came to be.
We contemplate his glory and divinity when we listen to these words: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him nothing was made. Here we gaze on the divinity of the Son of God, something supremely great and surpassing all the greatness of his creatures. Yet in other parts of Scripture we hear him as one sighing, praying, giving praise and thanks.
We hesitate to attribute these words to him because our minds are slow to come down to his humble level when we have just been contemplating him in his divinity. It is as though we were doing him an injustice in acknowledging in a man the words of one with whom we spoke when we prayed to God. We are usually at a loss and try to change the meaning. Yet our minds find nothing in Scripture that does not go back to him, nothing that will allow us to stray from him.
Our thoughts must then be awakened to keep their vigil of faith. We must realise that the one whom we were contemplating a short time before in his nature as God took to himself the nature of a servant; he was made in the likeness of men and found to be a man like others; he humbled himself by being obedient even to accepting death; as he hung on the cross he made the psalmist’s words his own: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
We pray to him as God, he prays for us as a servant. In the first case he is the Creator, in the second a creature. Himself unchanged, he took to himself our created nature in order to change it, and made us one man with himself, head and body. We pray then to him, through him, in him, and we speak along with him and he along with us.
RAnn of This,That and the Other Thing hosts Sunday Snippets — A Catholic Carnival
Join us or just check out our posts. This is a great way to share your posts from the past week.
Here are my snippets from the week:
One Shot Wednesday – Time again to read and write. Let the fun begin!
Here’s my one shot:
A Thousand Little Moments
I fail and I fall.
“Yes, Father, it’s me, again.”
My prayers and tears reach Your heart with plaintiff sighs.I reach for Love, as a baby grasps the finger,
Securing You to my heart,
Binding You by trifles.
A thousand little moments, like a knitter’s weave,
Trivial triumphs conquering like souls,
For made in Your image, I desire only You.Of wooing, my begging be a part.
I turn, my God, to You, as a prayer with every care.
Prayer and tears, now, all one,
I nestle to Your breast and am all ear.I listen as beat upon beat,
Love’s rhythm reassures me of the next,
And, of Your eternal constancy.
I listen, as for a whisper, and fear not
Whisper every care, and fretful prayer.I reach for You with every breath,
And sigh when You draw nigh.
You answer with a mother’s warmth,
Bending low, picking me up, and pressing me
To Your consoling bosom.“What is it my child. Am I not here? Haven’t I given you all?”
You kiss away my tears
And delight in the exchange.
I have given nothing but complaint,
Yet, You are full of smiles.A thousand little moments knit our day.
I cry and You comfort.
I beckon and You bend in kind regard.
You draw me into that chamber,
In which I was formed,
That hallowed space,
In which my time began.Heaven and rest contained
In one all holy Name.
Name me, my God,
And I will come into being,
Called forth from my darkness
Into Your marvelous Day.All our moments measured by Your mercy,
I cry out for a heart made unto Your own,
That I may grow to give Your Love.
Love begetting love, for love alone.Copyright © 2011 Joann Nelander All rights reserved.
Standing invitation to visit One Stop Poetry- Where Poets, Writers and Artists Meet.
It will cheer you, lift your spirits, brighten your mood. It goes a long way in stealing you away from the ho-hum humdrum. There is so much talent on display.
H/T : The Foundation of the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary
Prayer to Save America
During these critical times in U.S. history as well as in salvation history, pray, pray, pray!
O merciful God, we cry to Thee for pardon and for mercy.
We are an unbelieving and perverse generation.
We are disobedient, disloyal and ungrateful to Thee.
We have excluded Thee from our homes, our schools, our places of business.
We are no longer worthy to be called Thy children.
Merciful Father, spare America!
Forgive us!
Save us from the scourge we deserve.
Teach us Thy law, and move our wills to serve Thee today and everyday.
Merciful God, please spare America!
O Immaculate Heart of Mary,
Pray for us!
RAnn of This,That and the Other Thing hosts Sunday Snippets — A Catholic Carnival
Join us or just check out our posts. This is a great way to share your posts from the past week.
Here are my snippets from the week:
How sad is Man?
He values the rare,
Exults the extraordinary,
Crowns the celebrity.God, on the Other hand, proliferates.
He calls good all He creates,
Dignifies life by His Love,
And Humankind by His Incarnation.For want of goodness,
Man may usurp the place of God,
Seat himself
Upon that lofty throne.For the want of love
Man may throw life away,
Too small, too young, too needy
Too dependent to matter.How sad is Man upon his throne?
He beats his chest,
And declares his liberty;
Forgets his neighbor, chooses self.How sad is Man,
Unencumbered of diety,
His own god,
And lord of all he has stolen.Yet, God dignifies his defiant creature.
God respects the time of Man,
And give His Goodness
Sway over Holy Wrath.Out-side of Time.
There is only the Eternal.
In Time, mind and Man are matter-dependent,
Sustained in rhythms tuned by the Creator.When Time is rolled up
With the stars, like a scroll,
And fire devours all matter,
Where will the spark of Man exist?While living, Man chooses,
Until Death declares
All he has chosen final,
The Star of Hope extinguished.O Man, gladden the lot of Man.
Your eternity begins in the Heart of God.
You are rare.
You are extraordinary.Celebrate the Lord, Your God!
Copyright Joann Nelander ©2011 All rights reserved.
Image via Wikipedia
“…In synthesis, the Lenten journey, in which we are invited to contemplate the Mystery of the Cross, is meant to reproduce within us ‘the pattern of His death’ (Ph 3:10), so as to effect a deep conversion in our lives; that we may be transformed by the action of the Holy Spirit, like St. Paul on the road to Damascus; that we may firmly orient our existence according to the Will of God; that we may be freed of our egoism, overcoming the instinct to dominate others and opening us to the Love of Christ. The Lenten period is a favorable time to recognize our weakness and to accept, through a sincere inventory of our life, the renewing Grace of the Sacrament of Penance, and walk resolutely towards Christ….”
(Pope Benedict XVI, 2011 Lenten Message, Nov. 4, 2010)
It was only the third time it had happened to me in my nearly thirty-five happy years as a priest, all three times over the last nine-and-a-half years.
Other priests tell me it has happened to them a lot more.
Three is enough. Each time has left me so shaken I was near nausea.
It happened last Friday . . .
I had just arrived at the Denver Airport, there to speak at their popular annual “Living Our Catholic Faith” conference.
As I was waiting with the others for the electronic train to take me to the terminal, a man, maybe in his mid-forties, waiting as well, came closer to me.
“Are you a Catholic priest?” he kindly asked.
“Sure am. Nice to meet you,” says I, as I offered my hand.
He ignored it. “I was raised a Catholic,” he replied, almost always a hint of a cut to come, but I was not prepared for the razor sharpness of the stiletto, as he went on, “and now, as a father of two boys, I can’t look at you or any other priest without thinking of a sexual abuser.”
What to respond? Yell at him? Cuss him out? Apologize? Deck him? Express understanding? I must admit all such reactions came to mind as I staggered with shame and anger from the damage of the wound he had inflicted with those stinging words.
“Well,” I recovered enough to remark, “I’m sure sorry you feel that way. But, let me ask you, do you automatically presume a sexual abuser when you see a Rabbi or Protestant minister?”
“Not at all,” he came back through gritted teeth as we both boarded the train.
“How about when you see a coach, or a boy scout leader, or a foster parent, or a counsellor, or physician?” I continued.
“Of course not!” he came back. “What’s all that got to do with it?”
“A lot,” I stayed with him, “because each of those professions have as high a percentage of sexual abuse, if not even higher, than that of priests.”
“Well, that may be,” he retorted. “But the Church is the only group that knew it was going on, did nothing about it, and kept transferring the perverts around.”
“You obviously never heard the stats on public school teachers,” I observed. “In my home town of New York City alone, experts say the rate of sexual abuse among public school teachers is ten times higher than that of priests, and these abusers just get transferred around.” (Had I known at that time the news in in last Sunday’s New York Times about the high rate of abuse of the most helpless in state supervised homes, with reported abusers simply transferred to another home, I would have mentioned that, too.)
To that he said nothing, so I went in for a further charge.
“Pardon me for being so blunt, but you sure were with me, so, let me ask: when you look at yourself in a mirror, do you see a sex abuser?”
Now he was as taken aback as I had been two-minutes before. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“Sadly,” I answered, “studies tell us that most children sexually abused are victims of their own fathers or other family members.”
Enough of the debate, I concluded, as I saw him dazed. So I tried to calm it down.
“So, I tell you what: when I look at you, I won’t see a sex abuser, and I would appreciate the same consideration from you.”
The train had arrived at baggage claim, and we both exited together.
“Well then, why do we only hear this garbage about you priests,” he inquired, as he got a bit more pensive.
“We priests wonder the same thing. I’ve got a few reasons if you’re interested.”
He nodded his head as we slowly walked to the carousel.
“For one,” I continued, “we priests deserve the more intense scrutiny, because people trust us more as we dare claim to represent God, so, when on of us do it – even if only a tiny minority of us ever have — it is more disgusting.”
“Two, I’m afraid there are many out there who have no love for the Church, and are itching to ruin us. This is the issue they love to endlessly scourge us with.”
“And, three, I hate to say it,” as I wrapped it up, “there’s a lot of money to be made in suing the Catholic Church, while it’s hardly worth suing any of the other groups I mentioned before.”
We both by then had our luggage, and headed for the door. He then put his hand out, the hand he had not extended five minutes earlier when I had put mine out to him. We shook.
“Thanks. Glad I met you.”
He halted a minute. “You know, I think of the great priests I knew when I was a kid. And now, because I work in IT at Regis University, I know some devoted Jesuits. Shouldn’t judge all you guys because of the horrible sins of a few.”
“Thanks!,” I smiled.
I guess things were patched-up, because, as he walked away, he added, “At least I owe you a joke: What happens when you can’t pay your exorcist?”
“Got me,” I answered.
“You get ‘re-possessed’!”
We both laughed and separated.
Notwithstanding the happy ending, I was still trembling . . . and almost felt like I needed an exorcism to expel my shattered soul, as I had to confront again the horror this whole mess has been to victims and their families, our Catholic people like the man I had just met . . . and to us priests.
Into Stillness 