Monday, November 2, 2009

Here I Am

You have refused sacrifice and oblation,
but you have opened your ears to me.
You have refused burnt-offerings, even for sin –
so I said “I am coming.
The books of scripture have written of me.
It is your will, my God, that I wish to perform:
your law is next to my heart.”

From Psalm 40

(Please imagine a lovely music video of the St. Louis Jesuits "Here I Am, Lord"--will try to link later but my work computer speaker isn't working so I don't want to get a clunker!)

2 comments:

Dr. Laura Marie Grimes said...

Please pray for our church's bishops as we discern and, tomorrow at 4 pm Eastern, discuss and vote on a very serious matter involving a clergyperson with an abuse history. An unethical response could endanger the faithful and deservedly lose us some of our best clergy and communities--which might be what it takes to wake people up to the need for systemic reform.

I am hopeful that the specific scheduled vote agreed on in our last meeting will be for the right, but there are related issues we also have to deal with to thoroughly deal with this case as well as prevention...I have raised some of them in correspondence with leadership and will have to make two motions myself tomorrow if they are not on the agenda....And I fear that there will be much resistance due in large part to the temptation to spin and cover up and lie rather than acknowledge past grave mistakes in this area.

I am praying hard for discernment and an open mind and heart and am aware that these two further actions are pretty much deal breakers for me if avoided--which sways me in both directions. Leaving could free me from dealing with this kind of awful stuff at the larger level, that I didn't know about when I came in, so it could be a temptation not to stay in and fight the good fight. But leaving would also cost me a lovely little ministry placement and most likely some cherished relationships, which makes staying a possible temptation too.

And in the midst of it all the forgotten ones are the victims of twenty years ago, little boys then and wounded men now. As a priest in the fight for good shared with me this morning for All Souls Day:
"Please pray for the holy souls who have suffered in this life."

Many thanks.

Deb said...

I will pray. May God's mercy and justice prevail...

<3

Deb