Moment of Grace

Yesterday, I read similar passages from two books. They both centered on the necessity of going through hard times because after a failure or suffering, people are able to identify with the frailties of others and accept them with humility and love. In that process, we lose faith in our ability to conquer ourselves and we rely instead on the grace of God to do that for us. It is the first leg of any 12 step journey and it is what St. Paul recognized when he said "when I am weak then I am strong."

No one, of course, wants to go through the Good Fridays of our lives, even if we know that Easter Sunday follows. The pain, however, acts as a looking glass through which we are able to see the pain of others. When we reach out to try to ease it, the world becomes a more loving place.

What is true for people is also true for churches. The Body of Christ metaphor which describes the Christian bond throughout the world is more real than one would, at first, imagine. We often think of churches as institutions, but, in reality, they are really fleshy examples of their members' lives writ large. They reflect the narrative arc of a well written, three-act novel just as people do: connection, conflict and resolution.

On the worldwide stage, the Catholic Church is in Act Two of a very painful drama: pedophile priests. If the pattern holds true, on the other side of this crisis lies a humbled Church that is a more powerful sign of the unconditional love of Christ. This trauma will have destroyed the clericalism that has allowed people to be observers of their own spiritual dance rather than participants. Its members will have have been forced to reach deep and forgive a brother who differs from them only in the nature of his sin. The light of Christ will shine more brightly.

This is a pregnant moment in the lives of Catholic Christians. Once the administrative house is put in order, those in the pews have the choice of once again looking to the clergy to act as their intermediaries or standing beside them as each listens for the Spirit within. The priest as "other" sets everyone up for disappointment; the priest as "brother" acknowledges that he and we are partners in building the Kingdom that is to come.

Act Three has yet to be written - and the pen is in our hands.