horror. And, He knew that in the centuries to come, the horror of Good Friday would be repeated over and over again: Apostles would sin, violate their vows, Crucify Him, and lead countless people to flee from His Church because of their evil decisions. He knew, on th

didn’t know what was coming. He was God: He knew what lay ahead on Good Friday, in all of

celebrated the first Mass. Knowing that these men, 11 of his 12 closest friends would leave Him, betray Him, He offered them, not just bread and wine, a passing

calls us to remember something amazing. The night before He died, the night He was betrayed by these Apostles, He sat down and with

let’s go. They walked away. Today, in this time, we are right there on Calvary. Betrayed, angry, afraid this is the end, ashamed of the Church as we watch our Apostles betray everything, as it seems Christ fades into the darkness because the sins of His followers have extinguished His light once and for all.

, had vowed they would stay faithful to end, where were they? 11 of the 12 walked away: broke their vow, literally turned their back on God. The people who had come to believe in Jesus, seeing Him broken, and then watching the men, the Apostles, in whom they had trusted, whom they were willing to

, who had been given special authority, had enjoyed the limelight of being with Christ in his popularity, each of whom had been

apart. The Savior of the world, He who said He was God, hung beaten and bloodied on a cross, dying naked like a common criminal.

ou, are angry. I can imagine this has crossed your mind: if this is how the Church acts, then I want no part of it. I don’t fault anyone for that reaction. But, today, in these days of distress, I want to offer a spiritual reflection

, ones who have taken advantage of the trust of the faithful for their own gain, what are you,

ike the Psalmist says, we are in a time a distress. In a world where the Church is supposed to stand for something, it’s supposed to be better, to see She is populated by, worse led by, horrible criminals, broken

But, I am sorry, and know that I, and all priests, beg your mercy. We are all, at least in this Diocese, called by our Bishop to penance, for the sins of our fallen brothers. We have to pay that price.

, and so I am implicated in their crimes. My heart breaks: I know the trust that people, especially children put in their priests, and to see it violated, so horribly and for so long and for so many, I can’t even begin to express my sorrow for what my brothers have done.

some share in the guilt: I am a priest, I took the same vows as those men, we a bonded by

For all people of faith, for us Catholics, this has stirred up many reactions: rage

As many of you know, over the past weeks, there has been a lot of news about sex