World Meeting of Families, Ireland and some thoughts on the current Church crises
We enjoyed attending the 9th World Meeting of Families (WMF) in Dublin, Ireland. We have been blessed to attend two others: 2006 in Valencia, Spain and 2015 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (where we exhibited and first publicly launched our ministry). Once again it was wonderful to meet people from all over the world and to experience the universal character of the Church.
The next one will be in Rome, 2021!
While there the Dicastery held another meeting for the San Calisto Community. It was also wonderful to see much of the beautiful country of Ireland (from Dublin to Belfast to the cliffs of Mohar and Galway).
It was good to be together during these challenging times in the Church, for which we continue to pray. I am sure many of you have read many helpful articles and perspectives regarding the difficulties the Church is facing today. I share one with you that I found particularly helpful. It is the www.sistersofcarmel.com September Newsletter. If you click on the link to their website, it will bring you directly to their newsletter.
The entire newsletter is worth reading; however, I thought I would share a section in which they quote St. Catherine of Siena:
You asked Me to do mercy to the world… you prayed for the mystical body of Holy Church, that I would remove darkness and persecution from it… I promise you, that through the long endurance of My servants I will reform My Spouse (Holy Church, Bride of Christ). This is why I invite you to endure, Myself lamenting with you over the iniquities of some of My ministers…. And I have spoken to you also of the virtue of them that live like angels… And now I urge you and My other servants to grief, for by your grief and humble and continual prayer I will do mercy to the world. (Dialogue)
May we all continue to pray and fast for the many challenges facing the Church today and most especially for anyone who is hurting because of the “iniquities of some of [His] ministers.” Let us also pray for the good and holy servants within the Church who “live like angels.” May these current challenges remind us of our own need for the great mercy of God and also of the power of the Gospel to heal, restore, and transform all things in Christ.
May the Father send forth His Spirit to renew the face of the Church (and our individual lives as well). In Jesus’s name we ask this, Amen.
