BISHOP OLMSTED

In my previous articles, I began to look at the current crisis in the Church resulting from the sins of priests and bishops.

For centuries, the Church has been referred to as the “Barque of St. Peter” passing over the waters toward her heavenly destiny. It was in Peter’s boat that Jesus sat as He taught the crowds (Cf. Lk 5).

This month, I begin a new series that addresses the scandals of the Church that came to light across our nation this past summer.

In the earliest centuries of the Christian faith, the rite of Baptism with its powerful gestures, words and symbolism had a strong emphasis on conversion, a radical reorientation of one’s whole life away from sin and toward God.

En los primeros siglos de la fe cristiana, el rito del Bautismo con sus gestos, palabras y simbolismo potentes, tenía un fuerte énfasis en la conversión, una reorientación radical de la vida del pecado y hacia Dios.

Cualquier peregrino que llegue ante de la Basílica de San Pedro en Roma inmediatamente siente una sensación de alegría y majestad, ante las inmensas proporciones y calidad excepcional del arte y la arquitectura.

Any pilgrim arriving before St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome immediately feels a sense of joy and majesty, before the immense proportions and exceptional quality of the art and architecture.

A favorite Biblical image used by the Church Fathers to describe the fragility and complexity of human life is that of a potter working with clay.

Una imagen bíblica favorita utilizada por los Padres de la Iglesia para describir la fragilidad y complejidad de la vida humana es la de una arcilla de alfarero trabajando.

According to a Greek legend, Damocles, from the court of the tyrant ruler of Syracuse, voiced his desire to have the riches and pleasures of the king just for one day. And so, the next day, Damocles was led into the palace, and all the servants were bidden to treat him as their master.