...well, every day is a day for that. But today, at a crowded Westminster Cathedral, were the thoughts of others, like mine, tangled up with the headlines and the anguish over the child-abuse scandals? The Gospel reading - the woman taken in adultery - seemed so poignant. As we poured into Mass across the piazza, it seemed like any other Sunday. We prayed for the Pope and his forthcoming visit, for the Queen, for the suffering and for all in need...the choir sang the chants, the crosses were draped in purple cloth as Passiontide begins...
I met, by prearrangement, a young relative at Mass and had been looking forward to our day together. It was, as always, a joy to be together and catching up on news, and a grand day to be in London in springtime - daffodils blooming in St James' Park, people milling about in Trafalgar Square and down Whitehall, open-air cafes plying their trade on this first sunny Sunday of the year.
But I knew that meanwhile the headlines would announce that the (unjust) verdict of commentators in Ireland was that the Pope's letter was inadequate. Buying a newspaper confirmed that. For the next few days that's going to be the line, and rational discussion is going to be difficult. After that...
A time for prayer. Lots of it.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
Joanna,
It seems that their is little room in peoples hearts for forgiveness or patience.
The media are now hunting in packs. Based on rumor, guesswork and factual inaccuracies.
I find it sad and disgraceful - whether you are a Catholic or a Christian, the witch hunt is now verging on paranoia.
Sad days, and much prayer needed.
again well said, thank you for your common sense and faith. We are indeed up against it at the moment but we know the outcome. God bless
well said again and thankyou for your common sense and faith. God bless Michael and Eileen in Harrogate
Post a Comment