Young adults pray in St. Paul, Minn., at the Cathedral of St. Paul during a vigil for survivors of clerical abuse and healing of the Church. So much good has been done by the Church, and will continue to be done, that cannot be destroyed by the sins and betrayal of some, writes Clare Lazzuri. (CNS photo/Dave Hrbacek, The Catholic Spirit)
Every month when I sit down to write
this column, the first thing I do is look at the calendar of saints for the
upcoming weeks. Let me tell you, September is chock full of great saints –
Gregory the Great, Mother Teresa, John Chrysostom, Robert Bellarmine, Joseph of
Cupertino, Jesuit martyrs John de Brebeuf and Isaac Jogues, and Vincent de
Paul, to name a few. Not to mention the Feast of the Birth of Mary Sept. 8,
followed by her name day on the 12th. Then there’s the biggie – the Feast of the Exultation of the Cross on Sept. 14.
Normally, I would pick one or two of these giants and encourage families to look at them a little more deeply, finding a way to connect them to their lives. But this month, I kept getting stuck on that Feast of the Exultation of the Cross and the blood of all the martyrs commemorated this month. With great sadness, in these days of revelations of the appalling behaviour of multiple figures of trust within the Church, I realized that too many members who should have been pillars of faith have taken their focus off that Cross.
The day after the Feast of the Exultation is the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows. Ouch. If it hurts our hearts to hear about the travesties of trusted men over the course of decades, how much must it hurt the Immaculate Heart of our Mother in heaven? When she wept at the foot of the Cross, she not only wept for her Son, but for all her children throughout all of time who would suffer at the hands of those who would turn their backs on Jesus.
I would rather be telling families to bake a cake for Mary on her birthday. Of course, we can still do that. Mary deserves our celebration. But it’s okay to be sad with her, too. In fact, I think we need to join her in her sorrows. This is the time to really make an effort to spend time with her in prayer, to join our sorrows to hers. Spend some time with her at the foot of the Cross, gazing up at her Son. If you are not already doing so, pray a family Rosary. Ask her to guide us going forward. Especially ask her guidance in leading your children forward in faith.
Are you talking to your kids about all of this? Some children will hear the matter addressed in homilies, and that is not a bad thing. Others will pick it up from mainstream media, which can be dangerous and confusing for anyone. It’s in our nature as parents to want to protect our children. Our first reaction might be to cover their ears, but don’t. Certainly, depending on your children’s ages, you need to filter information for them. They don’t need all the details.
What they do need is to know that the Church’s body is made up of humans, some of whom choose to do evil rather than good. Some of whom are guilty of committing crimes. Some of whom should have been removed from their positions a long time ago. Tell them Christ is still our focus. Show them the crucifix. Tell them this glorious Church was built on controversy. Remind them of Judas, who betrayed Jesus with a kiss. Tell them that throughout the 2,000-year history, many mistakes have been made and many sins have been committed. Yet, so much good has been done by the Church, and will continue to be done, that cannot be destroyed by the sins and betrayal of some.
Point your children to the many great saints of September who devoted their lives to Jesus Christ and his Church. Some of them gave their blood for the Church. Two of them are especially close to our hearts in Canada – Saints John de Brebeuf and Isaac Jogues. The feast of these two Jesuit martyrs on Sept. 26 reminds us that a high price was paid for the Church to be able to exist in this part of the world. Before he was martyred, St. Isaac was imprisoned and tortured for 13 months, went back to France to recuperate, and then came back for more! He knew how likely it was he would die a miserable death, but he believed the cost was worth his life.
How do we honour his sacrifice almost 400 years later? Certainly not by abandoning the Church in her time of sorrow and confusion. Certainly not by giving base criminals the power to destroy our faith. We can honour these martyrs by renewing the spirit of sacrifice, penance, and perseverance of these great men and women of God whose lives imitate the sacrifice of Christ.
The Gospel reading on Sunday, Sept. 16, tells us the following from the 8th chapter of Mark: “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the Gospel will save it.”
There are a lot of crosses to take up these days. But Jesus told us what to do – follow him. Simple, really. Your children will get it. Even if some of our leaders and shepherds have forgotten – and there are many still who have not – we have the opportunity today to build families that will not forget.
Lazzuri, a mother of six, writes from her home in Nova Scotia.