A Light in the Darkness

I was saddened to learn in a recent news story of the reinstatement on the part of the Pope of several ultra conservative bishops, including one who has made a number of comments in denial of the Holocaust. How sad that it's more of a priority for the Pope to "reconcile" with persons such as these while at the same time courageous priests like Fr. Roy Bourgeois are threatened with excommunication for daring to suggest that women should finally be able to exercise ordained ministry in the church.

Truthfully, however, the saddest thing of all for me is seeing how far we as a church can sometimes stray from the fundamental mission and message of Jesus - love and compassion for those who are weakest and most marginalized. If there is any message of the Bible, any essence of faith surely this must be it - to love God with our whole mind, heart and soul and love our neighbor as ourself. Sadly we - myself most definitely included - far too often neglect this most central truth of our faith. We get caught up in our own little worlds, trying to control, attempting to get our way and often losing sight of what's most essential.

For that reason, I give thanks to God for true saints - authentic living witnesses who awaken us from our slumber and show us by their lives what it means to live to our full potential as human beings. One such person was Aristides de Sousa Mendes, a Portuguese diplomat who saved thousands of Jews from extermination during World War II, for which he paid a high price in his own life, experiencing the rejection of his own government and dying in poverty and obscurity.

As a human being, a person of faith and someone humbled by the call to serve others, it is the example of people like Aristides de Sousa Mendes that gives me hope for humanity. Some religious and secular leaders in positions of power may make their calculated decisions and persist in the illusion that they are in control but, whether we're comfortable with it or not, deep down we all know that there is really only one thing that's necessary in this life, only one thing that really matters in the end - having a soul: acknowledging our own brokenness and imperfection, allowing God to touch our hearts and heal us, and surrendering to the process that can shape us each day into more faithful servants of compassion, mercy and love for our fellow human beings.

With hope and peace,

Padre Chuck