Prayer to Close Friday Plenary

A few people have asked for a copy of the prayer Andy CastroLang shared at the closing of the Friday Plenary.



Andy began: "From a wise old man...."

Let me make an uncommonly honest confession. In the course of a half century, I have seen more Christian corruption than you have read of. I have tasted it. I have been reasonably corrupt myself, and yet, I joy in this church-- this living, pulsing, sinning people of God-- love it with a crucifying passion. Why? For all the Christian hate, I experience here a community of love. For all the individual repressions, I breathe here an air of freedom. For all the fear of sex. I discover here the redemption of my body. In an age so inhuman, I touch here tears of compassion. In a world so grim and humorless, I share here rich joy and earthy laughter. In the midst of death, I hear here an incomparable stress on life. For all the apparent absence of God, I sense here the real presence of Christ.

Walter J. Burghardt, SJ