But I write this today because I still believe. I still believe that this Church, with all its failing, was established by Christ. I still believe that the head of the Church, Jesus, remains joined to the body. I still profess faith in the one holy catholic and apostolic church. I still believe that the Holy Spirit was the ultimate guide in the selection of Pope Francis.
People think that the most difficult of the promises we make at ordination is celibacy. Perhaps that is because we live in a world obsessed with sex. But in truth I believe that the most difficult of the promises is obedience. When we are ordained, we kneel down and promise respect and obedience not only to that bishop but to his successors. At that moment we have no idea who the successors will be. It is an absolute leap of faith. And news flash, none of them are perfect. And each is imperfect in his own way, just as each of us is imperfect in our own way.
Sunday mass attendance in many places has dropped. Every cleric knows that at any moment he can be accused of anything by anyone and he will be presumed guilty. But those of us who remain cannot surrender. We must dig deep and find our faith and our hope.
Today’s gospel tells us that
the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.
To give up hope would be that blasphemy. We may in fact be a smaller church. We may be a poorer church. And these may be good things. In the RCIA process we refer to the Lenten Season as a time of “Purification and Enlightenment.” The Church is made up of individual members. The Church can only be purified and enlightened if we the individual members pray for that same purification and enlightenment.
Anything can be forgiven. Anything can be healed. The only unforgivable is to give up on the power of the Holy Spirit.
