Simon Peter answered him, 'Master, to whom shall we go?
You have the words of eternal life. '"
John 6:68
This is a very hard post for me to write, Friends. I have been struggling with the latest news of the abuse scandal in several dioceses in Pennsylvania--aren't we all struggling with this? Thanks be to God I heard a wonderful homily yesterday addressing the elephant in the room. Fr. Radmar Jao, SJ was the celebrant at Risen Christ in Boise and tackled it head-on. He validated the feelings of so many: anger, angst, betrayal, lack of trust. He gave us three ways to channel our feelings into positive action. I truly believe we need to be able to DO something or we will just marinade in the evil brew of it, throw in the towel on the church or turn our backs on God altogether. First, Fr. Radmar suggested praying...for the victims, the church, and for all involved in sexual abuse of any kind. Second, he urged us to be proactive in our efforts against any kind of abuse--everywhere, in all of our environments. Be vigilant and speak up! And finally, he said, as followers of Jesus we need to be strong witnesses for Jesus in the world. We need to remember our own personal encounters with Jesus, the very encounters that put us on the path of life with Jesus in the first place. We need to share these stories and bring Jesus to the world that needs to know Jesus. We need to stay and lead the church, not give up and leave the church. Thank you, Fr. Radmar...
Just as when Jesus overturns the tables in the temple, his anger is righteous and justified. So is ours when we feel so crushed by the actions of these priests and bishops on the innocent. But we have hope in our own personal relationships with Jesus and the need for the world to hear about Jesus. Gracious God, have mercy on us all. Love, heidi
This is a very hard post for me to write, Friends. I have been struggling with the latest news of the abuse scandal in several dioceses in Pennsylvania--aren't we all struggling with this? Thanks be to God I heard a wonderful homily yesterday addressing the elephant in the room. Fr. Radmar Jao, SJ was the celebrant at Risen Christ in Boise and tackled it head-on. He validated the feelings of so many: anger, angst, betrayal, lack of trust. He gave us three ways to channel our feelings into positive action. I truly believe we need to be able to DO something or we will just marinade in the evil brew of it, throw in the towel on the church or turn our backs on God altogether. First, Fr. Radmar suggested praying...for the victims, the church, and for all involved in sexual abuse of any kind. Second, he urged us to be proactive in our efforts against any kind of abuse--everywhere, in all of our environments. Be vigilant and speak up! And finally, he said, as followers of Jesus we need to be strong witnesses for Jesus in the world. We need to remember our own personal encounters with Jesus, the very encounters that put us on the path of life with Jesus in the first place. We need to share these stories and bring Jesus to the world that needs to know Jesus. We need to stay and lead the church, not give up and leave the church. Thank you, Fr. Radmar...
Just as when Jesus overturns the tables in the temple, his anger is righteous and justified. So is ours when we feel so crushed by the actions of these priests and bishops on the innocent. But we have hope in our own personal relationships with Jesus and the need for the world to hear about Jesus. Gracious God, have mercy on us all. Love, heidi
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