A Millennial Journey in Faith: To whom shall we go?

My daughter was born on the Feast of Corpus Christi, near the time of consecration at our parish. “Tantum Ergo” echoed in my head from our previous evening’s Mass attendance. As the summer continued, my husband taught our children to chant “Ave Verum” and we heard the proclamation of the “Bread of Life” discourse from John’s Gospel.

The “Bread of Life” discourse ends with Peter asking, “Lord, to whom shall we go?” a question echoing in the hearts and minds of many Catholics as recent events have begun to reveal just how broken the body of Christ is. Too many ministers of Christ’s body preyed on the most vulnerable among us and too many high-ranking clerics have been more concerned with their careers than the pursuit of holiness and integrity.

The corruption at the heart of Christ’s Church is a hard reality, evident in the people of God throughout the Old Testament, Gospels and Church history. The story of God’s people before Christ is rife with infidelity to the God of the Covenant and transgression of the Law of Moses; why should the story after Christ be so different? Soon after Peter asserted that the Apostles would not leave Christ, he denied him three times. The history of the Church, from the Avignon papacies to the anti-pope period immediately following, and to the corruption that led to the Reformation, is ample evidence that the effects of sin abound.

Yet, it is very different to live through a period of great sinfulness. Some say the very fact that the Church has endured these trials constitutes evidence of its divine approval – and they are right. But, it is precisely the enduring of the trials, wrought through the faithful challenge of men and women within the Church, which manifests that approval – not the corruption and scandals themselves.

How can these same men have the words of eternal life? How can they be given the power to change bread and wine into the very body and blood of Christ? How can Christ use them to communicate the forgiveness of sin?

In line with the Council of Trent, the Catechism states, “From the moment that a sacrament is celebrated in accordance with the intention of the Church, the power of Christ and his spirit acts in and through it, independently of the personal holiness of the minister.” In other words, as long as the sacrament is performed by a validly ordained priest and follows the rubric the Church has established, it is valid, irrespective of the priest’s sins.

The Church is composed of and led by fallen human beings; our tendency is to sin. The Church is not only an instrument of Christ’s redemption, it is in need of Christ’s redeeming love. “Love has its origin not in us but in God. Love is not a human behavior but God’s.”

And, it is not just in times of crisis that we should be turning humbly to God’s love for redemption; we should be doing this always, always grateful to Him for everything of beauty and goodness that we experience. There is, after all, no shortage of this in the life of the Church.

We stay transfixed on the Eucharist, residing in the mystery of Christ’s redeeming love, as we say to him, “You alone have the words of eternal life.”