Salutations! How are you today? I pray that you are well. There was a recent Archdiocesan Day of Formation that several staff members and I attended at the Church of Guardian Angels in Oakdale. It was sobering opportunity to gather together with parish leaders from throughout the Twin Cities to reflect upon the current ecclesial crisis and how the Lord is healing those who are wounded by it. There was a morning session with a retired Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice (Judge Janine Geske), and an afternoon session with a Theology/History Professor from the University of St. Thomas (Dr. Catherine Cory). In between the two sessions there was a Mass celebrated by Archbishop Hebda.
While I was not able to attend the morning session I was told that it was a very fruitful time of reflection about restorative justice and healing in the wake of clergy abuse and hierarchical cover-up. Judge Janine shared heart-wrenching stories of abuse survivors who had experienced awful physical and psychological trauma but who were also able to experience some healing afterwards by the Grace of God.
After the morning session everyone gathered for a Mass celebrated by Archbishop Hebda. Within his homily he emphasized the powerful truth that Christ stands with us in the midst of our difficulties and brokenness to give us strength but also to bring about healing. Our response is to humbly stand with Christ and to compassionately reach out to those who have also been hurt in their lives.
The afternoon session featured a moving presentation by Dr. Catherine Cory from the University of St. Thomas. She shared painful personal experiences from her family life and then connected them to her biblically based talk that was entitled “Be as Light in the Darkness.” While she touched upon various passages from Sacred Scripture her primary source was the Gospel of John. More specifically, she drew our attention to the fact that the sacred author - by inspiration of the Holy Spirit - focused on Jesus as the Living Word of God and that he is the Light of the World. In the Prologue or opening chapter of the Gospel we read that “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God” (1:1) and that “the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome” (1:5). Jesus who is the Word and the Light of the World invites us to experience his saving Grace and Mercy.
By virtue of our baptism, we are children of our Heavenly Father and are even referred to as children of the Light. As members of one family in the Lord we are called to shine the Light on the whole world. During the winter months here in Minnesota we literally have many experiences of darkness, since the sun is only shining from about seven in the morning until about four-thirty in the afternoon. That means that we need to make the most of the daylight that we have in a literal sense but also in the spiritual sense by our words and actions so as to glorify God and build up His Kingdom.
Without a doubt, there is a lot of hurt and a lot of pain that exist in our world. At the same time, as the recent Archdiocesan gathering showed, there is also hope for healing in the darkness because of the radiant Light that comes from Jesus Christ. As members of Christ’s Body, the Church, may we all live as beacons of Light in the world shining for others and pressing onward together towards the Kingdom of God’s Heavenly Light.
