The weeds in the crop.
It is difficult to imagine that another Sunday has come when we in Ireland have to address the issue of child sexual abuse in the Church. Unfortunately, this tragedy must be faced again in the light of the publication of the report by the government into the handling of abuse cases in the Diocese of Cloyne. Firstly, it must be said that our prayers and thoughts are with those whose lives have been torn apart by the actions of a few and the in actions of others. Our thoughts also must be with the faithful of the church in Cloyne who first hand must deal with the aftermath of the reports findings.
I am putting these few words together on the feast of St Bonaventure. He was an early Franciscan who rose to great prominence in his day a great teacher and bishop. I was reminded in the words of the preface that in every age the Father raises up men and women outstanding in holiness, whose lives build and rebuild the Church of God when decay sets in. We only have to think of the state of the Church at the time of this great man to realise that ours is not the only age that must deal with the consequence of sin and division. We pray that as St Bonaventure, St Francis, St Dominic responded to the call of grace so faithfully in their day, we too in our own day will help rebuild what is damaged, mend what is broken and heal what it wounded.
At this point in time, we all have a very clear choice to make as regards our relationship with the Church. If we chose to remain- and do not forget that many have left because of the scandals - we must humbly, before Almighty God, pray for forgiveness, make reparation for sin (even if the sins of the reports are not ours, God knows we have enough of our own to atone for) and beg the Holy Spirit to make us worthy of our calling to proclaim Jesus to our time. Because of scandal many, many people have lost the only limited contact they may have had with Christ. We have become so fixated the sins of members of the Church we forget what the Church is - the Body of Christ, the font of grace, the instrument Christ chose to continue His saving work in the world. And it is the world Christ talks about in the Gospel.
The field is the world and the crop of wheat and weeds grow side by side. In the sight of the land owner the two grow. Onlookers almost mock him "was it not good seed you bought". Still the two occupy the same space, the same sun shines on them, the same rain falls on them, the same wind shakes them. In the end the same sickle takes them from the field. It is then that good is separated from the bad.
In every life there are weeds and wheat. When I look at myself, I often think that if the weeds were taken from me, what would be left. There would be holes all over the place, the ground would be disturbed. All would be different. After a short while I would notice that the wheat of my life would be getting stronger and stronger. The nutrients would make me grow strong as I should, then the crop the Lord spoke of last week would become a real harvest.
We give so much of our time to tending and caring for weeds, we often neglect the wheat. The Church and the world have their dark sides as we all know. We believe, however, that God is not detached from it all. God is not the clock wider that set everything in motion then backing off. God is in the world, in the lives of the faithful, in the life of nations, in the life of the Church. It should be of no surprise that God tends to the needs of His people.
Maybe this is not for a homily, but it is a thought I have, and I cannot claim it is original (and they are just personal musings rather that a theological perspective) Why is clerical sexual abuse highlighted so much? It is obvious that it exists in other sectors of society, but why the Church, the Catholic Church? Is Divine Providence at work in this? Imagine God looking at the world and seeing the terrible plight of so many children; slavery, exploitation in the most evil ways, neglect, infanticide, abortion - the list goes on. God obviously sees it in the place where it most certainly should not be - in the heart of the Church. Like a vile poison it infects the world. Where would God begin the process of healing and liberation - in the Church. She is to be the light of the world and the hope of peoples. How could She be with such a stain? God pulls the weed from the field of the Church and leaves the wound wide open for every one to see, so that every one Catholic or not will see the terrible effects of sins against little ones. This is not some kind of 'cheap grace', as if to say the Church is offered up as a victim for the sake of the world. Certainly not, the sin is in the Church and needs to be burned out. Ignem veni mittere in terram et quid volo si accendatur.
We as priests and people have a responsibility to make sure the Church is a place where everyone can be safe and grow in holiness. There is no room for ambiguity in this matter. Learning is over. The lesson has been painfully taught and if we have not learned.....there is something very serious at stake - people and people's very relationship with God.
When the weeds have finally been tied up in bundles and burnt in the fire then we will see the field grow gold in the sight of God and prepare for Eternity in His presence.
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