The Path of Scorn

[MariaChristi]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

The Path of Scorn

As I walk through the cold, dark halls of His Church, I ask my Lord,
“How can this be Your body, if it is riddled with pain, corruption, and abuse?”
“These are my wounds”

I pray for their healing, but there is no discernible improvement
The wounds remain open
I can share in His pain or I can reject it
I choose to share

I draw in my breath, not knowing what lies ahead,
My walk continues.

As it grows darker, I ask Him,
“Am I going the right way?”
“I am the Way”

My walk continues.

It grows cold and silent.
I can hardly breathe,

Then I see a ray of light:
A widow singing wholeheartedly in the back row of the church,
A man bent in prayer before the blessed sacrament,
Humbled by joblessness,
A single mother converting scornful glares
into loving smiles for her children

They are largely invisible, but I see them
And I thank God for them,
They hold no status in the Church,
But they are vital
They are the red blood cells that carry
Oxygen from the Lungs and Heart of Christ
To the rest of His body

I take a deep breath and my walk continues.

Further down the path,
The abuse returns.
I am a pariah,
Rejected by the chief priests,
The elders, and the scribes.
I feel His pain and my soul is sorrowful unto death

I ask my Lord,
“Why is this happening? What have I done?
What are you trying to tell me?”
“I am the Truth”

And as the doors slam shut in my face
One after the next,
It becomes painfully clear:
God is narrowing the path

I am overwhelmed
And my heart cries out in despair,
“Lord, sustain me!”
“I am the Life”

My walk continues
Trusting that He is at my side

Whoever wrote the poem, certainly was given great grace to come through the trials God permitted. By God’s Grace, may we all pray to persevere in every trial He permits in our lives. Years ago, when my husband and I were on a retreat, the priest who led the retreat said something I’ll never forget: “Rejection by men is not bad”. The retreat was on the Gospel of John and Father Bill was referring to the many times Jesus was rejected by “the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes.”

The poem also reminds me of the encouragement God gives us in the Letter of James:

…Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter various trials,
for you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.
And let perseverance be perfect, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
But if any of you lacks wisdom,* he should ask God who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and he will be given it.
But he should ask in faith, not doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed about by the wind. (James 1: 2-6)

Today is the Feast of All Saints, and a good time for us to pray for one another as we seek to follow Jesus, with persevering faith, hope and above all charity, as all the saints did.