REFLECTIONS POOLSIDE

The thermostat just hit 100 degrees here in Mesa.  I am sitting in the shade of a cabana poolside at the retirement community where I reside these days.

Of course, it is a dry heat and the slight breeze which greets you upon exiting the water is enough to give you chills.  Believe it or not.

It’s about 1 PM, the traditional time of siesta here in the desert where, after a small lunch, natives and tourists generally wile away the afternoon napping or resting poolside as I am doing today.

And as I lay on a chaise lounge watching two little ones, a brother and a sister, the grandchildren of a fellow resident, I can’t help but think how innocents like these two could have been assaulted so terribly by brother-Priests or Clerics.

I can only wonder their suffering and shame, all unwarranted, but real nonetheless.

Of course, my celibacy prevents me from fully appreciating the rage and anguish of their parents and family members so outraged not only by the crimes but by the coordinated cover up by those to whom the governance and moral authority of the Church has been entrusted by the Lord Himself.

These two little ones force me to confront just the theology of scandal, or its moral and sociological consequences, they force me to confront the personal scars and wounds that have been inflicted not only upon the youngsters themselves, but each and every father and mother, brother and sister, who form the community of the Church.

As I jot these few thoughts on my note pad, the brother and sister are racing sideways across the pool.  The little girl is far faster than her brother and he is obviously frustrated.  She, of course, is gloating.

Would that these be the memories of childhood days for every youngster who ever graced the pews of our churches, who ever were students in our schools, who ever received the Sacraments of the Church.

For all the posturing of the Bishops and the Holy See, these two little ones put a face on the horror.

I wish I could tell these two and all our Catholic children how saddened I am, how angry and upset, but they wouldn’t understand nor should they have to at this wonderful age.

I can only continue in my meager effort to keep abreast and attuned to the fall out as it continues to unfold and offer whatever commentary I can which is, please God, informed by a knowledge of the Church and a desire to maintain a modicum of human decency within myself and the Priesthood I share.

God bless these two children.  May everyday be a day of laughing and fun as this one appears to be for them.  God bless their parents and grandparents, so attentive and watchful over them.  And God bless the millions like them that form an integral part of the Body of Christ.

Lord, protect and keep them safe always!