Daily Thoughts: I don’t often
wander into the scandals of the Church but today’s Gospel (Matt. 18:1-5, 10,
12-14) gave me pause to ponder. In Jesus’ words today we are reminded why the
sexual scandals of the Church were and are so wrong. Hurting children in any
way goes against all that Jesus taught. The sin that we the hierarchy of the
Church continues to carry, the sin of actions and in-actions, the sin of
indifference, the sin of hurt and pain, the sin of stealing innocence, the sin
of not protecting, of not responding should remain with us and never leave us.
When we hear the words of today’s Gospel
they should always give us pause to ponder what has been done to children in
our name. These words should give us pause to ponder how our actions and in-actions
as priests, deacons, bishops, cardinals and popes have led to so much hurt,
pain and the loss of God’s little ones!
These words of Jesus should never be far
from our thoughts and our hearts so that we will be humble people and always
receive God’s children as if we are receiving God. If this is not our attitude,
if this is not what drives our ministry then we should not be priests, deacons,
bishops, cardinals or popes. Humility will make us people who respect not who
are arrogance. May God and the children we have hurt forgive us and may we
never let this happen again.
On a more positive note perhaps we need
to remember the words of Fr. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, SJ – “The future
belongs to those who give the next generation reason for hope.” Let us give
hope not take it away!
Have a great Tuesday everyone.
Daily
Prayer:
O God, be merciful to us, because of
your constant love. Because of your great mercy forgive us of our sins! We
recognize our faults; we need to always conscious of our sins so that none of
your little ones are ever lost again.
O God, create a new and pure heart in us
and put a new and loyal spirit in us. Do not expel us from your presence; do
not take your Holy Spirit away from us. Give us the joy that comes from your
love and help us to always make the right choices in life. Loving God, be kind
to us and help us to rebuild your Church. Amen! (Adapted from Psalm 51)
A Runner’s Thoughts: “There's one
rule of thumb that suggests that you need one day of recovery for every mile run
in a race. Another rule of thumb...suggests one day...for every kilometer run
in anger.” (Hal Higdon)
Daily Blessing: Tuesday greetings
and blessings to everyone! I hope your day has gotten off to a good start! Here
in Sag Harbor the clouds are hanging low and little droplets of water continue
to fall and I will head home later this morning after the closing prayer
service of the retreat. We cannot complain about a little rain as this is the
first hint of rain since the retreat opened.
Happy feast day to all Franciscans,
especially the Poor Clares, as they celebrate the feast of St. Clare today, a
companion and friend of St. Francis – may we like Clare learn to “go forth
without fear, for God who created [us] has made [us] holy.” (St. Clare)
I pray that all of you will have a great
day wherever you are and through whatever kind of day you will face. If you too
are in the midst of a rainy day – stay dry, if the sun is out enjoy whatever kind
of day you face keep a smiling and remember you are a gift and if you share
your gift you will make it possible for others to a wonderful day too! Peace in
Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul
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