We’ve had a lot of difficult news to absorb these last few weeks. It would be easy to look at the Church’s current situation and wonder if we’re not splitting apart at the seams. Some have called this the US Church’s worst crisis in history (see interview below). So before sharing my thoughts on a way to respond to it, I want to start with a quote I find incredibly encouraging:
“Whenever your Mystical Body is despised,
condemned to die and considered dead,
the power of God breaks through
and victoriously creates a new earth.”
– Fr. J. Kentenich
Right now Christ’s Mystical Body is definitely suffering. How can we cooperate with God’s plan to bring good out of all this – to find any victory in it?
What is happening in the Church right now requires an answer.
I’m not qualified to talk about the answers people are asking for from the Church (here’s an interesting perspective on that: Bishop Robert Baron’s Q&A on the Sexual Abuse Crisis, for one). But what about the answer that we can each give to the Church? The answer that this current crisis demands from each of us – the laity. How will you be an answer to the situation of the Church of today?
Each one of us is the Church – and the Church is best renewed from the inside out. So, if what the Church needs is renewal and purification, I think we have to ask – how’s our own heart and soul doing?
I’d like to share some practical, every day ways to participate in the purification of our own hearts and souls, which is to participate in the purification of our Church, the Mystical Body of Christ.
Bishop Barron touched on this at the end of that interview cited above:
Does anyone doubt that the demonic power has been at work in this terrible time? I think you’d be naïve in the extreme to deny it. What’s our job? Get in the army. Get in the army of Christ the King and Mary the Queen Mother, and fight with them for the purification of our Church: through prayer and penance, through abstinence and fasting, through raising of one’s voice and calling of the bishops—whatever means you want to use, cooperate with Christ the King in his cleansing and purifying work. That’s the spiritual call of our time. – Bishop Barron
How providential that last Sunday in the middle of the whirl wind of news reports, we heard this Gospel:
He summoned the crowd again and said to them,
“Hear me, all of you, and understand.
Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person;
but the things that come out from within are what defile.“From within people, from their hearts,
come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder,
adultery, greed, malice, deceit,
licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly.
All these evils come from within and they defile.” (MK 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23)
Oftentimes when we think of PURITY, we think of preserving purity by avoiding the profane, “the world” or potentially “contaminated” environments. And I think there’s some value in that. Indeed, this value was alluded to in our 2nd Reading this Sunday, “…and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” (JAS 1:17-18, 21B-22, 27)
However, there is a big difference between avoidance and inner transformation. It is only the things within us that defile us, Christ says – nothing outside of us. So when we allow ourselves to overly focus on “the world,” as if all our problems come from “the world,” two dangerous things can happen:
- We may end up cutting off from the world and living in a bubble that is not reality, completely missing our apostolic mission.
- We avoid our own responsibility for what actually is within us (and throw our responsibility onto some “other”).
If we have found impurity within the Church, and when we encounter it in the world, is not the most radical answer to strive to live entirely transformed, to strive for purity of one’s own heart, while remaining in vital connection to the world and those around us?
What is purity of heart?
From the Catechism, 2518: “The sixth beatitude proclaims, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”307 “Pure in heart” refers to those who have attuned their intellects and wills to the demands of God’s holiness, chiefly in three areas: charity;308 chastity or sexual rectitude;309 love of truth and orthodoxy of faith.310 There is a connection between purity of heart, of body, and of faith (…)”
Purity is being entirely in tune with God! Intellect, will, and heart – in tune with God. And what does it mean to be in tune with Him but to be in tune with our true selves.
Another definition I’ve heard is that purity means being 100% whatever one is (From CatholicCulture.com: Purity: Freedom from anything that weakness or impairs or changes the nature of a being or its activity.) For example, when you read “100% pure spring-fed water” on your water bottle, you know there’s nothing but water in there. So striving for purity also means being 100% who we are, who we are called to be – secure in our identity in Christ.
And is it not precisely when we are insecure in who we are, when this union with Christ is broken, that we fall into sin? Even unto egregious acts?
Obviously none of us is wholly in tune with God – yet. But I think that’s what is so important about this moment, right now, in the Church. None of us is there yet – but how many of us believe that we’re meant to start getting there – right now? That’s what I mean about participating in the purification of the Church – we are called to participate in bringing about the Kingdom of God here and now, so that through His grace and with our cooperation, each day this earth is transformed into heaven, a little bit more each day.
Purifying self and community
So how do we do that? I want to offer 3 small places we can start.
- Purifying our inner life
- Purifying our community
- Putting Mary and Jesus — together — at the center of this purification
1. Purifying our inner life.
I’ll offer two practical ways. The first is to expose yourself to the graces in the Sacraments. In this world that we have secularized, we oftentimes forget about the supernatural life. Grace is real and is incredibly effective. Grace DOES uplift and elevate nature. Opening your heart more and more to the graces available in the sacraments will bring change, according to His plan of perfect love for our own sanctification.
And – since He is always reaching out to us and wanting to draw us closer to Him and closer to who we’re meant to be, the missing ingredient is always our own openness – our free “yes.” How often do we go to mass with an open and willing heart? How often do we go to confession and strive to practice true transparency? How often do we just sit in Adoration and, if you will, allow our selves to sunbathe in the rays of His Presence? And it’s not a flat yes or now-and-then that transforms, but the daily yes that always seeks to surrender more to Love than yesterday.
And the second practical way – pay attention to your inner life. Pay attention to your inner dialogue! We have so much that just runs through us each day – so much worry and slush and nervous half-thoughts. Purify your inner life! Strive to take hold on what’s going on inside you and when you notice something that is troubled or anxious or dark – bring that to the light of truth. Address it directly and give it to God.
This is where the process of transformation is always two-fold – God will slowly purify us with His grace in ways we can’t do for ourselves. But we have to put in our own effort – and it is real work.
2. Purifying our community – the Church
While of course there are important practical and relational ways we can work to heal our communities, I’d like to emphasize what I think is most forgotten – the supernatural plane. Just as grace is real and efficient in transforming our innermost self, it is also efficacious when we pray for others. How often we forget this!
Whether or not we pray for those affected by this crisis makes a difference. Whether or not we offer mass, or fast, or make any another sacrifice of love for the purification of our Church makes a difference. Whether or not we pray for Pope Francis makes a difference. What if every baptized Catholic were offering little gifts and prayers of love for the purification of the Church? How soon would we see the fruits of such a transformation?
3. Putting Mary and Jesus — together — at the center of this purification
Bishop Barron gives us another great indication – to turn to Christ the King and Mary his Queen. What’s significant about the two of them together, in answer to this current crisis? First, because precisely in Mary, we find the answer to our splintered nature, according to Fr. Joseph Kentenich*:
Modern man, so interiorly torn and divided, so locked into spiritual distance from those around him despite physical proximity, finds in Mary the ideal of a person wholly at peace: at peace with self, at peace with God, at peace with the surroundings. – Fr. J. Kentenich
And not just an answer in a pie-in-sky sentimental way, where we leave Mary like a perfect china doll way up on the shelf. An answer because she herself is the great educator of the human person – if invited, she can and will get to work on our education as only a mother can.
But there’s another reason too – together they have something to teach us. And this lesson is, I think, a huge part of what’s broken about our humanity today. We’re suffering from not understanding the nature of the human person – and it takes Christ and Mary, together, to reveal that true nature.
Catholicism…proclaims a comprehensive world unity— but as an organic unity with a head at the helm and a warm heart that takes a personal interest in each individual member. The Head is Christ, the heart is Mary, and as long as neither holds their rightful position as apportioned by God’s plan, the world will be unable to find rest.
Humanity is no mere organization. It is rather a great organism. It is a family. It therefore needs a head and a heart; neither the one nor the other may be absent. It is an immense kingdom. It must be ruled by a king and a queen—by Christ the King and Mary the Queen of the world. Both must be granted their rightful position and recognized in that capacity. Indeed what Sacred Scripture says of Adam also applies to the second Adam, “It is not good for man to be alone; let us make him a helpmate like unto himself (Gen 2,18). For Christ this Helpmate is Mary, the Mother of the human family and the Queen of the world.
– Fr. J. Kentenich
How can we turn to Christ and Mary in this time of suffering? One thing is certain, each of us is called to answer – and the family is the first place where this answer has to be born.
If Head and heart are to keep the world together they must first rule over the Church in their two-in-oneness; they must be commonly acknowledged as such in the dioceses and parishes, in religious orders and communities, and above all in and by each individual family. Without the renewal of the family there will be no renewal of the Church and world. Our first deep and all-embracing concern must therefore be for this most basic cell of human society.
– Fr. J. Kentenich.
Concluding cry: Church, Come Alive!
My last thought is really a battle cry, and a battle hymn, in the form Lauren Daigle’s song, “Come Alive.” Full lyrics at the end- I think they apply perfectly to right now:
As we look down the road where all the prodigals have walked
One by one the enemy has whispered lies
And led them off as slaves
We know there is more to come
That we may not yet see
So with the faith you’ve given us
We’ll step into the valley unafraid, yeah
We call out to dead hearts come alive, come alive
Up out of the ashes let us see an army rise
We call out to dry bones, come alive
Let us pray…
So let each of us who have been involved in the sins against holy purity – which if you consider it, is all of us — for we are one as the Mystical Body of Christ – let each of us and all of us come before God and expose our hearts to the purifying flame of his exquisite love, which is the truth of each of us, and together, with one heart and one mind in Christ, cry out, Church – come alive!
And may our Blessed Mother, the Mediatrix of all graces, the one who crushes the head of the serpent, that great instrument of God in the conversion of mankind in whom nature and grace are in perfect harmony, she who educates and transforms weak men on the road to victory, may she rise up and show the Church the way home to the Father as His beloved children; for as the Church we are also called to be a reflection of her, as we are, in her and through Him — the Bride of Christ. Amen.
As we look down the road where all the prodigals have walked
One by one the enemy has whispered lies
And led them off as slaves
We know there is more to come
That we may not yet see
So with the faith you’ve given us
We’ll step into the valley unafraid, yeah
We call out to dead hearts come alive, come alive
Up out of the ashes let us see an army rise
We call out to dry bones, come alive
Rescue every daughter bring us back the wayward son
And by your spirit breathe upon them show the world that you alone can save
You alone can save
We call out to dead hearts come alive, come alive
Up out of the ashes let us see an army rise
Now breathe, oh breath of god
Breathe, oh breath of god now breathe
We call out to dead hearts come alive, come alive
Up out of the ashes let us see an army rise
We call out to dry bones, come alive
* Fr. Joseph Kentenich is the Founder of the Apostolic Movement of Schoenstatt
OK, Rachel, prayer and self-improvement are all well and good, but we need reform in Church operations.
I suspect that things are better in the Church in the past 15 years and that the current system for dealing with abuse and misconduct are adequate. The Pennsylvania revelations were mostly about old cases, and I think the Church is doing better in this area now.
But, we should never let a crisis go to waste, and this is an opportunity for change. The silver lining in this dark cloud is that people are reconsidering their view of the Church and not putting clergy on a pedestal as much.
We need to reduce the power of bishops (who are practically monarchs within their dioceses), put in a system of checks and balances, and have more lay involvement in decisions about allocations of money and human resources.
Our own diocese’s new $85 million fund-raising campaign seems particularly tone deaf. It looks like a product of out-of-touch leaders.
Hi Dan – thanks for your comments! And yep, I agree – reform of Church operations is paramount – hence my referencing Bishop Baron’s post, and deferring to those who know more about all that than myself. I appreciate your putting out there too how far we’ve come – I think that often gets lost.
With all that, my point is precisely that the supernatural plane is not “all well and good”, but that it should be our primary fountain and source of practical transformation. I think that has a lot to do with the illness in the Church – and particularly an illness such as this which I think stems at least in part from a broken relationship between body, heart, and soul. Until we all radically remember and live from the reality that Christ Himself wants to renew and purify His Mystical Body, I would wonder if our practical reforms weren’t rather anxious human responses to fix only on the natural plane, rather than deep, long-term and fundamental transformations.
None of that is something that can happen all at once of course, but I do think it’s something each of us can do, each and every day.
Thanks again for the comments!
rachel, as an intelligent woman, a cradle catholic and with your skills and knowledge as a psychotherapist it saddens me that you feel like you have to defer in certain matters about this issue. with all due respect, I think you defer too much. with all r
respect to bishop barron, a lot of bishops unfortunately have failed to act in protection of victims. strong lay voices like yourself need to be in the “nuts and bolts” of this. and they are calling to be. bishops overseeing this as “experts” on what to do with other bishops is perhaps not the best “next’ thing to do. just an opinion….
In addition to this being an illness of “mind, body and soul” ( I agree) it is a family systems issue and an issue of so many people (including the heirarchy) not being sensitive or understanding the nature of sexual abuse. While I agree that it has improved, some very insensitive and downright ignorant statements are being made. This is where your voice is needed, rachel. Badly.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Mark. And I appreciate your sincere vote of confidence 🙂 You’re actually helping me be more clear. Rather than deferring, what I really meant was this: although the practical response is incredibly important, I’m specifically most interested in the supernatural response to the crisis – so that’s where I wanted to focus for the blog. One, because it’s where I feel called to really roll up my sleeves, and two, because it seems to be the most neglected component in this dialogue, from what I’ve seen. On the practical note though, did you listen to Bishop Barron’s interview? Among our US Bishops, I think he in particular has a good pulse on the nation and the American Church, and he’s got some good ideas I think. Also, it’s helpful I think to acknowledge that after the first wave of the crisis in 2002, they took a huge and influential practical step – involving civil authorities in the prosecution of the crimes. From what I understand, that has a lot to do with the great decrease in number of these cases since the 80s (when most of these reports date back to); that and all the Ethics & Integrity type programs that have increased both awareness and accountability at the parish level.
Re: Systems – absolutely. Systems thinking has really transformed the way I understand mental illness, abuse included. Which as you probably sensed, is a part of what runs behind this post. The Mystical Body of Christ is an organism that is both natural and supernatural – and we can fight abuse on both planes. Understanding that we’re all a part of the organism that is the Church means that each one taking up each one’s own responsibility for self-santification makes a HUGE difference in the integrity of the Body as a whole, in a natural and supernatural way. And it also means avoiding the comfortable (but very understandable) position of seeing those who commit the crime of abuse as “other” in such a way that they are held accountable for their actions (which indeed is a part of true love and mercy) and at the same time not demonized or seen as “the problem” in an overly simplistic way; ie one that says well if we just remove all those people, the Church will be healthy. Not so. If the Body of Christ itself isn’t purified and transformed from the INSIDE OUT (ie, lay people!), then we’re just as vulnerable to some other illness.
Of course, in that paragraph I’ve emphasized our own human actions – but within that is grace and God’s action first and foremost, with our small yet incredibly decisive “yes.”
A short prayer/quote as a closing thought – this is the intro to a Stations of the Cross written by Fr J. Kentenich:
“Father, at the side of our Mother/let me accompany the Savior of the world/ and see in his struggle of life and death/ the powers standing behind all world events.
With his Bride, the Great Sign/ help me extend my weak hands to him as his instrument./ He is the Lord whom you have commissioned to pass judgement on Satan.
I stand between the two great powers/ which oppose each other in eternal battle./ In complete freedom I renew my decision for Christ/ now and forever.”
Thanks again for sharing your thoughts!
thanks for your reply, rachel. i must admit that we must be hearing this from different points of view. for myself, the spiritual aspect of this is what i hear the most. not that it isn’t important. but people actually making an attempt to understand not only the complexity of sexual abuse but also the nature of institutional coverup i don’t hear as much. but perhaps the arguing…..
i did read bishop barron’s interview. i must admit to not being very impressed by it for a number of reasons, but it was better than a lot of them. some were just tone deaf.
my main disagreement with you is that i don’t agree at all that the spiritual aspect of this is the most uncomfortable part to talk about. talking directly to an abuse survivor and the horrid stories is to be the most difficult aspect of my job. and as you know, i was a pastor for several years.
i have several clients (four, to be exact) in my practice who have suffered from sexual abuse in a catholic church setting. i will not argue that sexual abuse is unfortunately a part of other insitutions. that is a sad fact.
but in my experience, those who have been abused a priest, who stand in for jesus (in persona christi) during the eucharist, and who are “father” is one of the most gut wrenching and difficult things i have ever had to deal with in my life. it is so much harder than talking about the spiritual part of it. and i don’t disregard that.
i know about “best practices” and i will agree that is has done some good in this area, especially in getting civil authorities involved. but i think we won’t know this for sure for some time. a closed system is a sick system.
i will be honest in that this whole thing has rocked me to the core by hearing these stories from flesh and blood human beings sitting right across from me. they want, more than anything, to know that it wasn’t their fault. and they cut themselves, shave their heads, burn their possessions, and engage in other very self destructive activities. even saying it brings up deep shame. i know you know this.
and they get upset, deeply upset, when this is rendered as a spiritual issue, even in the beautiful way you describe it. because for them it is betrayal. naked betrayal. and some of them won’t even say “spritual” for a while.
what i am wondering really is what your experience as a therapist in this. i mean that. what have you heard? how does that hit you on a human level and as a member of the body of christ? that is what i am talking about. you are a therapist. not all priests are.
i don’t want to engage in catholic bashing in any way shape of form. but i’m frustrated with what seems like defensiveness, intellectualizing and arguing one’s favorite pet theory. i know you see that, too.
being present to another person across from me crying, snotting, throwing up, and shaking like a leaf is a hard thing to do and even harder for them i know. several of them won’t even talk about what happened in pennsylvania. yet. that is reality. and it is a deeply spiritual moment. deeply.
i am sorry. this is damn important to me. i wish you can hear that. and i am really not angry with you. but people’s souls are damned important to me. as i know they are for you.
this is hard for me to even talk about. thanks for listening, rachel. and i will get up and sit with hurting folk again tomorrow. and the next.day.