Miscellaneous Observations

1. More than the other sexual abuse scandals in the Church, the one involving deaf children shook me to the core. Church authorities knew about the abuse for years and did nothing. In this case, the kids were living at a residential school withot parents to protect them and no way to escape their abuser. This scandal completely obliterated my willingness to follow rules: not eating for an hour before mass, confession  once a month, mass every Sunday no matter how inconvenient. The scandal has turned me into a Cafeteria Catholic. I do not much feel like following rules enforced by people who turn a blind eye to the abuse of children whose parents are far away and have difficulty communicating their abuse to others.

2. I had the beginnings of a relationship with someone in my Bible study. It did't work out, which was for the best, I believe. Still, I haven't been to the Bible study in more than a month because I dread the awkwardness. It seems that I will never go back. I have lost a social activity I values. This is very painful.

3. I sat in mass last evening and looked up at a stained glass window depicting St. Martin de Porres.
For some reason, contemplating him gives me peace. He is not a well-known saint and I think he is underappreciated.  He worked as an infirmarian. He also loved animals deeply and worked to heal them. He had the gift of wisdom and helped many people with relatonship difficulties.  I am including a link if you want to read more about him. 

http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=306