Cardinal Roger Mahony: Humiliate Me

Earlier this month Cardinal Roger Mahony was "relieved of his duties" for his role in covering up the still-widening molestation scandal that is shredding the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.  Yesterday Mahoney announced on his blog that it's now clear to him that Jesus wants him to be humiliated.

Given all of the storms that have surrounded me and the Archdiocese of Los Angeles recently, God's grace finally helped me to understand: I am not being called to serve Jesus in humility. Rather, I am being called to something deeper--to be humiliated, disgraced, and rebuffed by many.

I was not ready for this challenge. Ash Wednesday changed all of that, and I see Lent 2013 as a special time to reflect deeply upon this special call by Jesus. To be honest with you, I have not reached the point where I can actually pray for more humiliation. I'm only at the stage of asking for the grace to endure the level of humiliation at the moment.

In the past several days, I have experienced many examples of being humiliated. In recent days, I have been confronted in various places by very unhappy people. I could understand the depth of their anger and outrage--at me, at the Church, at about injustices that swirl around us. Thanks to God's special grace, I simply stood there, asking God to bless and forgive them.

Note that Mahony only asks God to forgive his accusers and not himself.  Even though he's been stripped of his duties as a cardinal, Mahony remains a "priest in good standing" and is eligible to vote for Emperor Palpatine's successor. (Tipped by JMG reader George)