By Msgr. Thomas J McDonnell

The announcement has been made. Churches are closing. And people feel hurt, betrayed, alienated and angry. Strong criticism has been made against the church. I would submit that such is proper and necessary, since people need to vent their frustrations.

But after awhile, a certain sort of spiritual realism must step in. We must remember that anger is not a fruit of the Spirit. And we must turn toward the future and begin to try to rebuild trust &emdash; the trust of the people in the church &emdash; and the trust of the hierarchical Church and many of its clergy in the people.

An article such as this can only hint at directions. But there are certain themes which must be emphasized. We might begin with an observation by St. Augustine. He noted that the faith-life revolves around one question &emdash; expressed in many different words. Christ always asks: "Do you love me?" If we answer "yes," He adds: "Then trust me."

In these confusing times, when so many almost contradictory voices are being raised, we must focus on the fact that Christ, Who is the Word of God, is faithful to His words. His promise has been realized: "I will be with you all days…" Now His voice and his question, "Do you love me?" is being heard in the Church, both audibly and directly, and through the events of our time. And if we respond affirmatively to his question we must begin to pray for the grace to trust where He and the Spirit are leading the Church.

On a personal level, I always considered it a grace to have been stationed at St. Augustine's in South Boston, and to have frequently visited the Cemetery Chapel, one of the original seven ecclesiastical establishments of the Church in Boston. We know how the original seeds planted at the time expanded and grew. Certainly a great deal of human effort and sacrifice was involved. But, in our belief system, we must credit its major impetus to the work of the Spirit.

Again, Christ promised to send His Spirit upon the Church to guide it. And we should never forget that the Spirit's ways are not always ours. There is the incident in the Acts of the Apostles where the selfless Apostle Paul headed to the borders of Bythinia to preach the Gospel. But the Spirit told him to change his planned direction. And perhaps this same redemptive pattern is also occurring in our day.

In the Book of Deuteronomy, there is an arresting definition of sin. It centers about our unwillingness and inability to remember. And at this time, I believe that it is incumbent upon the Church in Boston to remember the good that was done, and is being done, in the name of the Church and through individual disciples. We might think of the educational and medical systems we have sponsored, or the pantries which reach out to so many. Or individual doctors who, at expense to themselves, continually treat the uninsured persons.

It was a European theologian and spiritual writer who noted that the Church is the cross upon which Christ is continually being crucified. He was only partially correct. It is also a cross for far too many of the laity in our time. And this is why we must be respectful and reverence the voices which are being raised against the Church in our day&emdash;and to pray for them.

When all is said and done, we must remain hope-filled in our day, building our hope on the fact that once again Christ is true to his promise: He remains praying for His Church.

Msgr. McDonnell, a regular contributor to the Reporter, recently retired from his post as pastor of St. Augustine parish in South Boston. That parish was on the list recommended for suppression released this week. He is currently a senior priest in residence at St. Mary's Church, Dedham.