This was the opening prayer at Sunday Mass, the 28th week of ordinary time as well as the closing prayer of the Office of Readings:

Lord our help and guide, make your love the foundation of our lives.  May our love for you express itself in our eagerness to do good for others.

Is any part of that unclear?  Beyond the fact that we all need to be reflecting the love that God has for us into the world but if we do indeed love God like we say we do the proof of that is that love expressed in our eagerness to help others. 

Where is that love that so many claim to have for God being expressed toward the victims of clergy sexual abuse?  Not only does there seem to be a lack of love on the part of the hierarchy of the Church toward the trauma of the victims but the outrage at that same hierarchy seems scattered and love from the so-called faithful is not being directed to the victims.

Here is just a smattering of things that have been said to me about this issue;

“This has nothing to do with the gospels.” said after mass.   “Have you heard the saying that God helps those who help themselves.” made after a request made to parishioners to send letters to bishops demanding this issue be resolved.   “People aren’t going to like you.” made in reference to my talking about this issue.

I guess ignorance is bliss.  It saddens me that I have witnessed the mind numbing ignorance of so many people who think they are the faithful.  Pharisees!!  Or maybe I’m the Pharisee.  Weather it is me or whether it is a lot of the parishioners I’ve had unfortunate interactions with there is a great deal of hard-heartedness here.  I pray to God it is not me who is hard-hearted