The four marks of the Church are “one, holy, catholic, and apostolic.” What does it mean to call the Church holy? To state that the Church is holy does not imply that its members including its deacons, its priests, its bishops, and its pope are free from sin. The Catechism states: “All members of the Church, including her ministers, must acknowledge that they are sinners.” When we speak of the Church as being holy we must remember the words of Christ given to Peter: “Upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.” To state that the Church is holy is to acknowledge the power of the Holy Spirit which comes down upon her and guides her into all truth in order that we may strive for sanctity in our everyday life.
The Catechism again testifies to this truth: “The Church is therefore holy, though having sinners in her midst, because she herself has no other life but the life of grace. If they live her life, her members are sanctified; if they move away from her life, they fall into sins and disorders that prevent the radiation of her sanctity.”
This takes me to Saint Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians where he stated that “the days are evil.” Unfortunately I don’t think that we have to work too hard in order to imagine how “the days are evil.” In this world so many injustices are allowed to exist and it seems that we have completely lost our moral compass. Truly “the days are evil,” but with the Lord there is always hope.
This takes me to the reason that I felt compelled to give this homily for I believe that this same issue may be on many of your minds. This issue at hand in the abuse of power as seen by some priests and bishops. Through their sinfulness we see an issue which all of us have the right to be angry at. I cannot give an answer to how we move forward except through transparency and prayer. In your pew you will find a pastoral letter written by our bishop on this matter at hand. I believe that he does a beautiful job at outlining the many ways in which the Church in America as well as this diocese has taken steps to ensure the safety of our youth and vulnerable adults.
Despite the evil of our days or scandals of our time we must see the necessity for Christ and His Church. Truly the Church is holy and yet she is made up of those who are sinful. There is no excuse for these travesties which were allowed to exist in Pennsylvania or elsewhere. Thus let us set our sight upon Christ who is present with us in the Eucharist. Through true devotion to Him may we bring about healing in the midst of sorrow, be brought to faith when it is tested, and find strength for ourself when we are tempted.
In our Gospel Christ states: “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.” This is the beauty of the Church for it is the Eucharist which must become central in our life. Without the Eucharist there is no reason to believe and stick around, but through the Eucharist our every need is filled. Let us pray for all victims that healing may be brought to them and let us fast and pray in reparation of these evils that they may truly pass away and the light of Christ may begin to shine brightly for the world to see.
