Don't Jump Ship Because of Judas

  In this time of yet another scandal, there are good and faithful Priests who encourage their flocks.  This letter can be, and has been, written in the various words of other such Priests in many parishes around the world.  This is just one example.  I keep it anonymous because I don't personally know this Priest.  (The parish name is a common one.)


  " Dear Parishioners of Holy Family, Praised be Jesus Christ!
I write this letter to all of you as something separate from the pastors column with the hope that I can more fully communicate my message to you. The timing seems to be perfect as we are within the beautiful Octave of Marian feasts, following the Solemnity of the Assumption and concluding with the Queenship of Mary. I write this under the protective mantle of the Holy Virgin to each of you who as disciples of the Lord Jesus are also her well-beloved children.


Over recent weeks our Church, Our Mother on earth, has had to endure yet another round of public purification. This process of purification, while it has been painful, has a Divine origin as well as a benefit for each of our souls. The long awaited revelations of sinful and destructive behavior on the part of those who have been in positions of power has brought not only great pain but also an incredible sigh of relief. The Lord has acted and exposed so as to heal and cleanse.
The general response on the part of the other bishops has been incompetent at worse and incomplete at best. Of a more recent note two American Cardinals recently participated in interviews with major publications. While in one interview the presence of organized cliques of power-hungry-lustful-wolves-in-sheep’s-wool present in the Church’s chanceries and seminaries is ignored, in the other interview that particular Cardinal Archbishop is so bold as to say that the lustful unchaste homosexual dimension to this epidemic is a diversion from the heart of the matter.


While none of us are given the authority to judge a soul nor condemn one to what we think may be deserved, we are able to make a judgement on the gravity of what has taken place and to acknowledge that mortal sin has not only occurred but also been turned into a lifestyle. Grown adults who claim to be disciples of the Lord Jesus, who have been ordained to the Sacred Priesthood of Jesus Christ, who have been entrusted with an apostolic ministry for the salvation of souls have lived double lives and purposefully sought to damage and destroy the beauty of humanity through grave sexual abuse and misconduct.
There are several factors which are present and still being denied and covered up by many within and outside of the Church.


First: Those who have had their disgusting behavior exposed have been participating in lustful gay subcultures. While this is not politically correct to state, the culture of being politically correct is what has prevented these horrible acts from being stated and exposed. Victims, both young and mature, have suffered because people were afraid to speak the truth. The individuals in question were not only in positions of power and authority that they abused, but they also preyed upon young men who were their subordinates. As we are finding out, many of these victims were adults at the time of abuse and sexual misconduct.


Second: The individuals in question, and their supporters, have been notoriously and suspiciously quiet over the past 30 years during the culture wars of Life verses Death. Church teachings and Papal clarifications during the reign of St. John Paul II and then Benedict XVI were ignored by these bishops and archbishops so that Pro-Abortion Catholic Politicians could receive Holy Communion and tout their lackluster and empty Catholic faith for votes from mindless cultural Catholics who don’t heed to the sanctity of life in all stages. Priests and faithful alike have been chastised by these same bishops for preaching, teaching, and expecting fidelity to the teachings of Christ because it was unkind, uncharitable and divisive to state that someone who receives Jesus in Holy Communion should not support the murder of the unborn. These same bishops were dangerously quiet when confronted with the public assaults against the sanctity of marriage and its biblical definition as a union between ONE MAN AND ONE WOMAN FOR LIFE.


Third: Among those who have fallen we find an absence of public teachings and statements about the importance and significance of Our Lord Jesus in the Eucharist and the role of the Holy Virgin in the life of the disciple. Over the past few weeks we have been challenged and nourished by the words of the Lord Jesus from John Chapter 6, the Bread of Life Discourse, during Holy Mass. We must remember that these words are life-giving and life-saving. Who among us that believes in the true presence cannot see the central role that the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament plays in the life of the Church, as well as in strengthening the soul of a Christian? Is it any wonder then that when those who are the shepherds don’t preach and teach the reality of the true presence fall so easily into a life of sin and darkness.


Fourth: In our age of public sins we must admit the disappearance of corporate and public penance. We as a Church have grown weak and lazy when it comes to penance. In a culture of weakness and laziness where there is no penance, no discipline, why should we expect any kind of fortitude and strength, discipline and restraint of individuals? We each know how difficult it is to remain strong in the face of temptation, penitential practices help to strengthen us. The fact is, in our day people want what they want and they get what they want regardless of the cost. Why do we no longer abstain from meat on Fridays when the Church asks us to? Why do we no longer fast when the Church recommends us to fast? Spiritually speaking, the Church, even and especially her ministers, are dying from a lack of strength and discipline.


Fifth: The denial of the Devil. Too many of our leaders deny the existence of the devil and of fIat-out-plain-old evil. It is said “When you deny the devil’s existence you have already been duped by him.” He is real, he is prowling about the world seeking the ruin of souls, and He thrives when Christians are living a dream thinking there is only good and no consequences to bad choices.
Each of us must fight temptations and remain on guard against all sin, especially mortal sin. The Lord gives Himself to us in the Blessed Sacrament so that we may be strong enough to not only continue the journey of life, but to also remain faithful to Him as we make this journey.
We must pray for the sanctification of priests and bishops. The seminarians of today will be the priests of tomorrow. These young men must be prayed for while also being protected from the predators. Our Lady, Queen of Clergy, needs to be restored as a title of Our Lady, that is popular and invoked often.


As a little boy, my uncle Pat, may he Rest In Peace, would say over and over again a quote his father had told him, “we must be faithful regardless or in spite of the Church”.


 I remember thinking how I didn’t like that quote as I thought it was an attack against the Church that Jesus founded. Then I entered seminary. Though many things had changed from the challenging times of earlier years, we still studied and prepared for the priesthood in an environment where subcultures were present and ambition was a disease that infected many. Among my peers there were debates about liturgically appropriate socks (I couldn’t make it up if I wanted to!) as well as serious conversations about doing whatever you had to do so as to become a bishop. (Lord save us!) Among the faculty we had beautiful priests who loved Jesus with their whole hearts and we had priests who were predators. Thankfully, we had more of the former than latter. In the beautiful priests, you always would see a man who loved Jesus in the Eucharist and would cling to Our Lady. In the predators, you always found a man who complained about EVERYTHING, was grateful for nothing, and focused only on what he could gain from the one who stood before him.


While we may be disgusted and angered, perhaps some who have a young faith are even tempted to leave Holy Mother Church, we must remain focused on Jesus in the Eucharist and Mary as our Mother. Let us make frequent use of the Sacrament of Confession and pray daily the Holy Rosary. We must acknowledge the pain that comes about from the sins of those who have literally pierced the Sacred Heart again. In acknowledging this pain, let us strive to make acts of reparation for the sins committed against Jesus and against His little ones.
All is not lost! Our faith is a holy faith and Our Lord Jesus IS God! He will not abandon us. Even should we think we are going at it all alone, He is with us! I wish to close by saying as a priest, I am eternally grateful for the people I have met and served thus far. I have had only three assignments and in each of these three parishes I have met good people, strong people, people who want to survive. All of you by your faith, remind me to stay close to the good Lord and His Mother. Our parish of Holy Family is a community, a parish, a Church that believes and that is something for which I am truly grateful. We treasure the gift of the Lord in the Eucharist and the presence of Our Lady. May this be forever the case!


Returning to these days of Marian celebrations, let us remember that where our Mother has gone, we her children should want to follow. She has gone to heaven to be with Jesus, so too may we if we remain faithful to Him. This valley of tears is not our permanent home, but merely a journey. A journey we must make and survive. As this journey that we call life is a trip through the valley of tears, may we remain dependent upon Jesus in the Holy Eucharist. As a Catholic Christian, I am broken hearted by the news of bishops and priests being unfaithful and embracing lives of sin. As a priest though, I breathe a sigh of relief as the Lord is cleaning out the Church.


Heart of Jesus, we Adore!
Heart of Mary, we Implore!
Heart of Joseph, Pure and Just;
In these three hearts, we place our Trust!
May we pray for one another as we follow Our Lady who directs us to her Son.
In Jesus through Mary, [Father's name redacted]."

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