The Relevancy of God's Word

Yesterday's first reading from the prophet Ezekiel was immensely relevant to all that is transpiring in the Church. Yesterday's reading points to the utter moral failure of Israel's leaders to care for the people entrusted to them. Once again, we have witnessed this failure in moral leadership and guidance, this time by those Roman Catholic priests who abused children and those bishops who chose to hide these crimes.

And in God's providence, today's reading from Ezekiel offers a word of hope. It is God alone who is the true shepherd of God's people. God will transform our cold, deadened hearts - made so by the gravity of the sexual abuse crisis and the cover-up scandal - into living, loving hearts once again. It is through the tender compassion of our God that all who have been scattered will be re-gathered together and made whole again.

There is hope in the midst of the scandal of these crimes and sins. Our hope is in the Lord. We put our faith in the justice, the mercy, and the peace of God. It is God alone who gathers, God alone who heals, and God alone who transforms. In God, we put our trust.


Yesterday's first reading (Ezekiel 34:1-11):
The word of the Lord came to me:
Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel,
in these words prophesy to them to the shepherds:
Thus says the Lord GOD: Woe to the shepherds of Israel
who have been pasturing themselves!
Should not shepherds, rather, pasture sheep?
You have fed off their milk, worn their wool,
and slaughtered the fatlings,
but the sheep you have not pastured.
You did not strengthen the weak nor heal the sick
nor bind up the injured.
You did not bring back the strayed nor seek the lost,
but you lorded it over them harshly and brutally.
So they were scattered for the lack of a shepherd,
and became food for all the wild beasts.
My sheep were scattered
and wandered over all the mountains and high hills;
my sheep were scattered over the whole earth,
with no one to look after them or to search for them.

Therefore, shepherds, hear the word of the LORD:
As I live, says the Lord GOD,
because my sheep have been given over to pillage,
and because my sheep have become food for every wild beast,
for lack of a shepherd;
because my shepherds did not look after my sheep,
but pastured themselves and did not pasture my sheep;
because of this, shepherds, hear the word of the LORD:
Thus says the Lord GOD:
I swear I am coming against these shepherds.
I will claim my sheep from them
and put a stop to their shepherding my sheep
so that they may no longer pasture themselves.
I will save my sheep,
that they may no longer be food for their mouths.

For thus says the Lord GOD:
I myself will look after and tend my sheep.


Today's first reading (Ezekiel 36:23-28):
Thus says the LORD:
I will prove the holiness of my great name,
profaned among the nations,
in whose midst you have profaned it.
Thus the nations shall know that I am the LORD, says the Lord GOD,
when in their sight I prove my holiness through you.
For I will take you away from among the nations,
gather you from all the foreign lands,
and bring you back to your own land.
I will sprinkle clean water upon you
to cleanse you from all your impurities,
and from all your idols I will cleanse you.
I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you,
taking from your bodies your stony hearts
and giving you natural hearts.
I will put my spirit within you and make you live by my statutes,
careful to observe my decrees.
You shall live in the land I gave your ancestors;
you shall be my people, and I will be your God.

Jesus Descends Into Hell

Last week's release of the Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report regarding the sexual abuse of at least 1,000 children (it is so painful to even write that number) by 300 Roman Catholic priests and its subsequent cover-up by bishops and other Church officials in Pennsylvania has been nothing short of devastating, particularly for the survivors of sexual abuse.

These victims were innocent children who were preyed upon in terrible ways. And then, their horrific ordeal was silenced by bishops and other officials. I cannot even begin to imagine the pain and struggle endured by these survivors. They are brave and they have waited a very long time for justice. I pray that they might begin to experience healing and hope.

It was also devastating for many Catholics - laity and priests alike. Those of us who depend upon our faith, no matter how weak it may be at times, have been shaken by the findings of the Grand Jury: How could a priest commit such a grievous crime against a child? Why did our bishops move those priests accused of sexual abuse from parish to parish? Why did they continue to put children in harm's way? Our hearts are broken for those who endured such suffering. And we want justice and accountability from our leaders... now!

In the midst of this swirl of emotions - anger, frustration, deep sadness, and devastation - I celebrated the Sunday Eucharist with my parish community, just as I have been doing every Sunday since my arrival at the parish two months ago. And just as we have done every Sunday, we professed the Apostles' Creed. However, unlike all other previous Masses, one line in particular from the Creed grabbed my attention in a new way: "He descended into hell."

As Catholic-Christians, we believe that Jesus was crucified, died, and was buried. But the story of Jesus' suffering does not stop there. As if this suffering of Jesus was not enough, he then enters into the very realm of the dead. Jesus goes to the place of no hope. Jesus enters the places of emptiness, of pain, of betrayal, of lies and darkness. Jesus journeys to that pit of devastation. 

There, in hell, Jesus finds all those who suffer, those who have been harmed, those who have been neglected, forgotten, and silenced. Jesus descends into their personal hells, not of their own creation, but imposed on them. Jesus descends into hell in order to seek out all who suffer. Jesus finds each and every hell where there is pain, suffering, and death. Jesus descends into hell so that he can rise again. Jesus does not rise, however, until he has entered each personal hell and lifts up all those who have died a thousand deaths inflicted on them by their abusers and those who covered up these crimes. 

No word, no promise, no program, no amount of support, counseling, and assistance will ever be able to blot away the devastation of child sexual abuse and its subsequent cover-up by Catholic clergymen. There is no quick fix for them. It is a lifetime of suffering. Many of the victims continue to experience hellish pain and ongoing trauma.

Abusive priests and bishops who abused their authority imposed this hell on thousands of victims.
And so, Jesus descends into hell.