After the Pope's visit:
The Church, Christ's body
is like His own beautiful body on the Cross -
battered, bleeding and disfigured by sin
not His sin, but the sins of the entire world.
So too her body is gashed, and bleeding and defiled.
In Ireland the lived Faith is and was used to props
The prop of culture
The prop of numbers
The prop of law
The prop of 'respectability'
These props have been washed away in
a tide of scandal and sin
That have left many broken
and many others heart broken.
And because of this many hate the Church
-and I use this word on purpose
hate.
We need to get that.
We are reminded day after day
of the sins and crimes
which should and does fill us horror.
They associate her with every kind of wickedness.
Many have walked away.
And to be honest; who could blame them.
The world tells us the Church is dead
and is happy to dance on her grave.
But she is his bride.
The Church is built of living stones,
and Christ is the corner stone.
It is built on rock.
The rock is St Peter's profession of faith -
Jesus is the Son of God
This is the unassailable truth of the Catholic faith
Jesus is the Son of God
Everything else comes from this
our liturgy
our morality
our view of the world
If we do not believe that Jesus is Lord
nothing makes sense.
The Church has nothing to offer except
Jesus Christ.
Now is the time, more than ever in our history,
to discover Him
Not as a myth
Not as 'good man'
Not as source of
'thoughts for the day'
But as Lord
as God
as Saviour
as Brother
and as Friend
Only in this
ONLY IN THIS
Will the Church be what it should be
Salt and light for the world
Christ will and does lead His Church
from the valley of the shadow of death
to green pasture beside flowing water.
And there are many painfully years ahead.
But He goes before us
with crook and staff.
We must humbly follow.
There is only Christ,
he is everything
he is in everything.
And no matter what the world says to us
only in Him do our hearts find rest.
Lord Jesus, have mercy on us,
and on your Church.
Lead her home.
The prop of culture
The prop of numbers
The prop of law
The prop of 'respectability'
These props have been washed away in
a tide of scandal and sin
That have left many broken
and many others heart broken.
And because of this many hate the Church
-and I use this word on purpose
hate.
We need to get that.
We are reminded day after day
of the sins and crimes
which should and does fill us horror.
They associate her with every kind of wickedness.
Many have walked away.
And to be honest; who could blame them.
The world tells us the Church is dead
and is happy to dance on her grave.
But she is his bride.
The Church is built of living stones,
and Christ is the corner stone.
It is built on rock.
The rock is St Peter's profession of faith -
Jesus is the Son of God
This is the unassailable truth of the Catholic faith
Jesus is the Son of God
Everything else comes from this
our liturgy
our morality
our view of the world
If we do not believe that Jesus is Lord
nothing makes sense.
The Church has nothing to offer except
Jesus Christ.
Now is the time, more than ever in our history,
to discover Him
Not as a myth
Not as 'good man'
Not as source of
'thoughts for the day'
But as Lord
as God
as Saviour
as Brother
and as Friend
Only in this
ONLY IN THIS
Will the Church be what it should be
Salt and light for the world
Christ will and does lead His Church
from the valley of the shadow of death
to green pasture beside flowing water.
And there are many painfully years ahead.
But He goes before us
with crook and staff.
We must humbly follow.
There is only Christ,
he is everything
he is in everything.
And no matter what the world says to us
only in Him do our hearts find rest.
Lord Jesus, have mercy on us,
and on your Church.
Lead her home.
