From Darkness to Light!
Holy Saturday
My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? - Mark 15:34
I was raised in the Church, and I knew about Christ for as long as I can remember; I knew Jesus, and at the age of twelve felt my call to the ministry. I experienced the heavy hand of discrimination in the Church, but my relationship to Christ saved me.
The Church has done so much damage to the lives of people through the years--the Crusades, supporting war, and its war against LGBTQ+ people; I have heard many homeless youth and adults speak of the Church, even if they knew of its existence and the LGBTQ+ with so much anger, anger that will take years to overcome.
I have a young friend, who is 24 now, but have known since he was 13 ask me "What is this God thing about?" And in talking to him he had no understanding.? Religion had never been in his circle of orbit. One young man on Haight was given a pamphlet by a woman who was "evangelizing", and resulting from his previous experience of being kicked out and rejected by family and church, he tried to commit suicide.
I spend most of my time with street youth, and almost everyone feels lonely and abandoned, rejected. They feel very much alone as I do, and I can identify with them.
For me, the precious center of the Passion is our Lord’s cry from the Cross. A few moments later, His heart gives out and darkness descends upon the earth. But in His despondent cry, Christ has entered our inner darkness. He takes on one of the most fragile aspects of our condition – the sense that we are alone, abandoned, and unwanted – and redeems it from within. And my aloneness is redeemed in Christ, and I try to live out that redeeming joy giving myself away to these guys!
Fr. Henri Nouwen experienced loneliness and isolation as a result of being in the closet, and he writes about our journey:
We are on a Journey
Where are we going? After a very short visit to earth the time comes for each of us to pass from this world to the next. We have been sent into the world as God’s beloved children, and in our passages and our losses we learn to love each other as spouse, parent, brother, or sister. We support one another through the passages of life, and together we grow in love. Finally, we ourselves are called to exodus, and we leave the world for full communion with God. It is possible for us, like Jesus, to send our spirit of love to our friends when we leave them. Our spirit, the love we leave behind, is deeply in God’s Spirit. It is our greatest gift to those we love.
We, like Jesus, are on a journey, living to make our lives abundantly fruitful through our leaving. When we leave, we will say the words that Jesus said: “It is good for you that I leave, because unless I pass away, I cannot send you my spirit to help you and inspire you.”
Deo Gratias! Thanks be to God!
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Prayer of St. Brendan!
"Help me to journey beyond the familiar
and into the unknown.
Give me the faith to leave old ways and break fresh ground with You. Christ of the mysteries I trust in You to be stronger than each storm within me.
I will trust in the darkness and know that my times, even now, are in Your hands.
Tune my spirit to the music of heaven,
and somehow, make my obedience count for You"
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(Temenos and Fr. River seek to remain accessible to everyone. We do not endorse particular causes, political parties, or candidates, or take part in public controversies, whether religious, political or social--Our pastoral ministry is to everyone!
领英推荐
Day of (No) Silence 2024: Rise Up. Take Action.
History of Day of (No) Silence: Started in the mid 90’s by two college students, Day of Silence has expanded to reach hundreds of thousands of students each year. Every April, students would go through the school day without speaking, ending the day with Breaking the Silence rallies to bring attention to ways their schools and communities can become more inclusive.
2024 Day of (No) Silence: With more than 800 anti-LGBTQ+ bills introduced last year, we must Rise Up and Take Action. GLSEN’s Day of NO Silence is a nationally recognized student-led demonstration where LGBTQ+ students and allies all around the country—and the world— protest the harmful effects of harassment and discrimination of LGBTQ+ people in schools.
Fr. River Sims, D.Min., D.S.T.
415-305-2124
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