Abbey-Roads2

In Heaven, I wonder if the just mock and scorn the damned?  I don’t think so.  (That is pretty much the conduct in hell.)

Some Catholics mock and deride sinners and heretics, they even revile Bishops, laughing them to scorn.  They mock the dead.  They condemn sinners and unbelievers.  Sadly, I’ve sinned all too often in the same manner.

The tears of the Madonna, the tears of her Son, suggest to me they do not mock and scorn, rather they weep and mourn for the lost, the ignorant and the erring.

“Happy the man who follows not

the counsel of the wicked,

nor walks in the way of sinners,

nor sits in the company of scorners,

but delights in the law of the Lord

and meditates on his law day and night.” - Psalm 1

…meditates on his law day and night…even when the erring do not.

My Jesus, pardon and mercy through the merits of thy most holy wounds.

“On February 11th, 1858…”

My dear friend David - who is no longer Catholic - often would come up behind me repeating these lines from the movie, “Song of Bernadette” - even when we were in the monastery together.  I missed his “Sound of Music” style wedding to Stephanie because I was in Lourdes the day they were married, in fact, I stopped at the Grotto to pray for them as I left for Compostella.

Lourdes was a wonderful stop on my pilgrimage.  I stayed there a long time on my way to and from Compostella.  I had desired to visit Lourdes since I was rather little, maybe 7 or 8 years old. 

There is a special joy at Lourdes, one easily feels the consoling presence of the Blessed Virgin.  I would like to go back one day.

When I left enclosed monastic life to live as a pilgrim I had composed a rule of life, endorsed by the Abbot and my Father Master.  I read part of it today, while reminiscing about Lourdes and how I labored there to earn my keep.  I worked for an Irish nun, whose name I cannot remember.  She operated a “free” hotel for Irish pilgrims, many of them reformed youth.  (There were paying guests, but she kept a large section for those who could not pay.)  I asked for the jobs no one else wanted to do, thus getting to know the bad boys.

Here is a section of my rule:

On earning a living.

“The pilgrim shall strive to associate with the lowly, the humble, the poor, the outcast…since that is what he is.  He shall likewise prefer unskilled work, without esteem or status.  It is preferable if the world considers him ridiculous or wasting his talents.

The pilgrim works only in accord with his needs, without concern for recognition or promotion.  When he is called to move on he will earn a sufficient amount of money for support on his sojourn.  The pilgrim must strive to be self-sufficient, content to go without.”  - Rule of a Pilgrim

It wasn’t always easy.  Departing from Lourdes I noticed a group from l’Arche, Jean Vanier’s community who live with the disabled.  A young man from Quebec was having some difficulty with his companion who was in a wheel chair.  I overheard him speaking to some well-to-do American tourists about how difficult his task was.  After they past by, I went to help him get his patient down to the Grotto.  I asked him something about l’Arche and he responded rather haughtily in French that he did not understand English - demonstrating he had no time for me.

I lost it.  I yelled at him,  “F*** you b***h!  I just heard you whining to those Americans, speaking perfect English….etc.”  I continued to rebuke him for his snobbery and lack of charity.  To my surprise, he was obviously shaken and somewhat frightened by my vulgar outburst and he apologized profusely, in English.  It was the lowest point in my visit to Lourdes, my profanity and anger in the sacred atmosphere of peace and joy. 

I went away humbled and penitent, returning to make my confession at the Basilica before I left - praying many rosaries for the young man I insulted.

Being despised and  held in no esteem, appearing ridiculous, is always a tough thing to accept.  Although for me, it has always been easy to achieve. 

Photo:  Homeless man sleeping with his dog.

It sort of sums up how I feel today - thinking of that homeless man, treated like an animal and dropped off on a L.A. skid row area street, and of course, I’m unable to get the images out of my head of the Chinese skinning animals alive.  The world has grown cold.

I read today where Boston priests are being shortchanged on their pensions due to mismanagement of retirement funds.  It is alleged Cardinal Law dipped into these funds to pay legal costs and make victim pay offs during his tenure - most of the spending associated with the clergy abuse scandal of course. 

“Hundreds of distraught Boston-area priests are facing stark cuts in their retirement benefits as the Archdiocese of Boston scrambles to shore up its teetering pension system after decades of poor fiscal management.

“I see all of this as unjust and a failure to observe our canon law,” said the Rev. Richard Craig, 71, who retired four years ago as pastor of St. John the Evangelist in North Chelmsford. “It leads me to wonder, are we, the senior priests, becoming objects of elderly discrimination?”

Church documents show that as of April 2006, the pension plan - the Clergy Retirement/Disability Trust - faced an $85.4 million gap between the money on hand and what it is expected to have to spend for hundreds of priests, active and retired.” - Boston Herald.com 

“Archdiocese officials insist senior priests are better paid than their active counterparts.”  I guess that is supposed to make the retired priests feel so much better.

What is this country going to do as all the baby-boomers are beginning to retire now?  Many corporations are also trying to cut employee pensions.  But an Archdiocese doing it too?

All I can say is, Wow!

(If you read the entire article, it does appear the Archdiocese is working to correct the shortfall and take care of their priests.  Nevertheless, it is unsettling news that shakes one’s confidence in Church officials.)