A Call to Unity and Prayer

What are We to Do about the Scandal in the Catholic Church?

Let us unite in prayer for healing within the Catholic Church. Every Friday through this Easter Season, let us pray a rosary for healing, protection and restoration of the Catholic Church. Let us fast and think on how we as Catholics can make the world a better place. Let us pray everyday for our pastors, our priests, our bishops, our Cardinals and our Pope. This time of scandal within the Catholic Church is a call to prayer to all the faithful to stand united and say. “Lead us not into temptation, O Lord, and deliver us from evil.” Our strength is in prayer.

Lord, take us by the hand and lead us. You know our hearts. You know our intentions: They are of peace, forgiveness, love, healing and restoration. In a nation divided by strife, we can see how if a spiritual leader is wounded and confused, the enemy attacks and try to disperse the sheep. What are we to do? We hear your call, O Lord in John 10:27:

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.

We are to protect those who are placed under our care especially the children, as Matthew 18:6 says: “But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.”

Jesus came to show us the way and before His passion in His prayer at the Last Supper (John 17) He prayed to God the Father:

I have given them your word and the world has hated them,
for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.
My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.
John 17:14-15

We are in the world but we are not of the world. We need protection from the evil one. The tempter is rejoicing at the sight of the confusion and the hurt created by the sin of a few in the hearts of many. May not the sin of a few who have succumbed to temptation distract those faithful from glorifying and worshiping God in the Catholic Church. We pray for the victims of these abuses that they may be healed and may be able to see Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior knowing that the perpetrators of the crime were guided by satan and not by Christ’s light of salvation and redemption. May the Holy Spirit dwell in their hearts for them to be able to see the light at the end of their tunnel of suffering and confussion. We pray for the sinners, and for their victims, may the light of Jesus Christ shine in their hearts for healing and restoration.

Out of this trial we will come out stronger, knowing that our strength does not rests on human flesh but in the Holy Spirit and the strength to persevere and stand against temptation.

By the grace of the Holy Spirit the Church has existed for 2000 years. In this new millennium we see priests tainted with sin and we, as Catholic, hurt inside. We feel betrayed by those who are supposed to be our leaders, and we are attacked with eagerness by those who do not like what we stand for.

Let us put the problem we are facing in focus: Jesus was betrayed by Judas.

The betrayal of Judas did not stop the Catholic Church from growing in faith. The Catholic Church has had its ups and downs through the centuries but the faithful with prayers and sacrifices have seen the Church through the bad times into good times.

Jesus came to earth as God and Savior and among His twelve disciples He had a Judas. May not a Judas distract our attention away from the faithful eleven disciples and the millions who have served and continue to serve the Church faithfully and who those who have died and continue to die for the faith. The Catholic faithful has been guided and taught by priests and religious with high moral standards. Let the Judas be judged and removed from their priestly duties. Let us live in the light. A thorn has to be removed, the crime committed has to be brought to light and justice needs to be done. If you cover up the criminal- the crime will be repeated. We have to live in the light.

In a time of hurt and confusion, “On our knees.” On our knees, let us pray and sacrifice and implore the Lord to shower blessings upon our troubles and to bring resurrection out of hurt and pain.

Let us pray:

Call us with Your voice Lord.
Call us to You in a way that only You can do.
Knowing our hearts,
Mend us. Guide us. Forgive us.
Help us to be restored from scandal
to healing and holiness as a Church – The Holy Catholic Church.
To trust You more eagerly,
To live in Your light and lead others to You,
Condemning sin and ministering to the wounded and the sinners.
We come to you, Lord because You said in Matt 11:28-30:

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." (NIV)

As Catholic we treasure and respect life from conception to natural death and we treasure every soul as God’s creation, most of all our children. Join us in prayer of healing and restoration, so out of this times of trouble we may grow more faithful to God’s word and holier in every area of our lives.

May this Easter be a time of Joy and Resurrection for you and your families, with the knowledge that God never abandons us.

You have made known to me the paths of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence.'
Acts 2:28

By Marta

Ó 2002 Marta

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Last update Thursday, January 17, 2019