St. Paul speaks today of a great mystery, the mystery of Christ and the Church, He says… “Even as Christ loved the church and handed Himself over for her to sanctify her, cleansing her by the bath of water with the word, that he might present to himself the church in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy without blemish.” 

    Now, if you have read the news lately, you may be wondering whether or not this Church that Christ has sanctified and cleansed is really without spot or wrinkle. How can she be holy and without blemish? Where is the splendor of Christ’s church, when we are continually met with “systematic and profound failures of leadership in the church” (+Archbishop A. Sample, Letter to Portland, OR). You’ve heard it in the news a new wave of scandals from among church leaders, and even a prominent Cardinal in D.C. have been released. It is clear that some of our spiritual leaders have failed to fulfill their vows and their promises of fidelity to the Church. 

    The failure we see here today is a failure to follow the path that our Lord Jesus Christ has showed us. This reading from St. Paul should make a great effect on priests and bishops and deacons on those who have consecrated their lives to Christ and are called to imitate Christ to the fullest. When I was ordained a priest of Jesus Christ, I consecrated my life and promised fidelity to Christ and His Church. I vowed to hand myself over for the Church to sanctify her and to cleanse and purify her. So that through my sacrifice and the sacrifice of all the Christian faithful our Church, People of God, may be without spot or wrinkle, may be holy without blemish. 

    Yet when one member or when one leader in our church fails to remain faithful to his or her consecration, the Church seems to lose her splendor that she once had. I get very angry when I hear of these crimes and I am also filled with sadness.

    This is a terrible crime! “The tragedy of clerical sex abuse is a profound spiritual failure; and especially so when someone called to be a good shepherd, to live a holy and chaste life consecrated to Christ and his people, and to serve as Jesus served, acts in such a gravely sinful, evil manner” (+Sample). In a letter addressing the revelation of new clergy sex scandals in Pennsylvania and with the former cardinal McCarrick of Washington D.C., Pope Francis quoted Pope Benedict XVI, who wrote, “How much filth there is in the Church, and even among those who, in the priesthood, ought to belong entirely to [Christ]! How much pride, how much self-complacency! Christ’s betrayal by his disciples, their unworthy reception of his body and blood, is certainly the greatest suffering endured by the Redeemer; it pierces his heart. We can only call to him from the depths of our hearts: Kyrie eleison – Lord, save us!” (Pope Francis)

    We the priests in Idaho and alongside our Bishop Peter Christensen have recommitted ourselves to our fidelity to the Church. She is our bride, we are your fathers, and we desire to lay down our lives for you our children. Pray for our strength and our protection from the attacks of the evil and I will pray for you, for your healing and for perseverance in this trying time. 

    So then, the Gospel speaks well to us today. Jesus asks us: “Does this shock you?” In the midst of adversity and infidelity in the Church, when the crowds murmur loudly and the words of Jesus seem hard to accept. “Do you also want to leave?” Yes, it may seem that our Lord asks us to do a lot, but we know that He does lack when it comes to tough words. He has been telling these crowds over and over again, “eat my flesh, drink my blood” “my flesh is true food, my blood is true drink.” If we can believe that this bread and wine transforms into the body and blood of Christ, then I think we can have hope that the Church will always remain holy and without blemish, spot, or wrinkle. 

    Let’s take up the words of St. Peter: “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.” 

    We profess our faith in a Church that is: One, Holy, Catholic, & Apostolic. And we can be assured of the holiness of our Church, because it was founded by Jesus Christ, the very fount of holiness. 

    The Church is the bride of Christ, she is the bride of all her priests and bishops. And it is “Christ Himself who makes His bride immaculate.” The purity of the church does not rely solely on the fidelity of the institution or the individual fidelity of each of her priests or leaders. (Yes, it helps, but the Church, Herself is pure, immaculate, and holy b/c of her source and fount of life, Jesus Christ. “The Church is Holy, because of the overpowering grace & mercy of Christ.” This holiness the church possesses is a holiness that is here and now. It is not something that she once had and does not have now, nor something that she will have and may not have now. The Church is holy. 

    Yes, we know that sin abounds, but that sin is a betrayal of the meaning of the Church. It is a betrayal of what it means to be part of the body of Christ. “It is above all in the Eucharist itself that the Church is rendered His immaculate, holy, sinless bride.” “It is not a moral assessment of the individuals involved. You know…its a group of sinners, but it’s instead an assessment of what this communion and encounter with Christ achieves, that the Church the bride of Christ is Holy. He has made her his immaculate and spotless bride.”

    As a result of this, many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied Him. Jesus then said to the Twelve, (He now addresses us), “Do you also want to leave?” Simon Peter answered Him, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.”