LECTIO — I Hear the Word
I read the prophet Isaiah as if he were laughing gently at my modern despair:
And Christ Himself—calm as a carpenter and cosmic as a king—says:
“In memory of the death of innocence of the victims of clergy sexual abuse. When innocence dies…a life stops. It is essential that we never forget.“
I cannot help noticing that He speaks of burdens, but I speak of being buried.
He carries worlds; I can barely carry the weight of one bishop’s “serious mistake.”
Yet here He stands, saying again:
“Come to me.”
“In the act of healing a wound, the Church proclaims that the Kingdom of God begins among the most vulnerable.”
Dilexi te, §52
**2. MEDITATIO — **Where the Banner Fell and the Lambs Ran
Yesterday’s Advent sun rose and set as if rehearsing the Gospel rhythm of burden and rest. Between those two lights, I passed the former banner of our Centennial—proud only days ago—now lying wrinkled and defeated like a fallen standard on a battlefield. A flag announcing triumph now looked more like a warning.
And later, among my flock, I found lambs stumbling about with misplaced loyalty—darting after the LGD puppies as if forgetting the very mother who bore them. I gathered them in, one by one, returning them to the ewe who alone could nourish them.
Some would call all this coincidence.
But I, being Catholic—and therefore a devoted detective of divine hints—cannot help reading signs the way a child reads picture-books.
The fallen banner is the Church’s own sign saying:
“If you ignore the lost ones—those little ones wounded by Clergy Abuse—your Centennial will also fall.”
And the confused lambs mirror those victims scattered by Matthiesen’s “serious mistake,” abandoned by Salazar’s crimes, and made invisible by those who now pretend the tribute raised by that defrocked priest is inconsequential.
Photo used by permission of Douglas Kirkland/Corbis via Getty Images
“If Boston is the fault line of the child sexual-abuse scandal that has convulsed the Roman Catholic Church, then few places have felt the aftershocks more deeply than the Diocese of Amarillo.”
New York Times
August 24, 2002
The fallen banner whispered:
Here is your sign indeed.
3. CONTEMPLATIO — Chestertonian Synthesis: Where Burden Becomes a Cosmic Joke—If Only I Would Laugh With God**
In the paradoxical style of the Universe, I find myself suffering from what I call BMDS—Bishop Matthiesen Disorder Syndrome: a spiritual dizziness caused by beholding a Church that proclaims mercy publicly while privately preserving monuments to mistakes that shattered the innocent.
And then I hear Isaiah chuckling:
“You think your burden is heavy? Try holding up the stars.”
I imagine Christ grinning like an eternal schoolmaster:
“You speak of a tribute as if it were a mountain. I move mountains with a mustard seed.”
And suddenly I realize:
My burden is heavy only because I insist on carrying it alone.
His yoke is light because it is shared—and because it is welded to truth.
Perhaps Advent itself is the diagnosis and the cure:
Return to the One who lifts burdens, not banners.
4. ORATIO — Prayer: A Re-written Litany of Loreto for the Removal of the Salazar Tribute to Bishop Matthiesen
for victims, for our diocese, and for courage to do what is right.
Lord have mercy.
Christ have mercy.
Lord have mercy.
Christ hear us.
Christ graciously hear us.
God the Father of heaven,
strength for the fainting, have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world,
rest for the burdened, have mercy on us.
God the Holy Spirit,
fire that melts frozen hearts, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God,
our unwearied Shepherd, have mercy on us.
Holy Mary,
Mother who gathers lost lambs, pray for us.
Mother of the Church wounded by her shepherds,
pray for us.
Mother of Mercy for the abused and forgotten,
pray for us.
Mother of those who labor under unjust burdens,
pray for us.
Mother immaculate—whose “Yes” held no shadow of mixed motives,
pray for us.
Mirror of Justice clearer than any Centennial banner,
pray for us.
Seat of Wisdom who exposes foolishness,
pray for us.
Cause of our Joy when truth is spoken aloud,
pray for us.
Comfort of the Afflicted—especially victims of Clergy Abuse,
pray for us.
Help of Christians weary of silence,
pray for us.
Queen who never ignores the little ones,
pray for us.
Queen before whom no blasphemous tribute can stand unchallenged,
pray for us.
Queen of Peace, who desires healing, not hiding,
pray for us.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world,
spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world,
graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world,
have mercy on us.
Let us pray:
Lord, renew our weary hearts. Cure us of Bishop Matthiesen Disorder Syndrome—the belief that the wounds of the past are hidden from You. Through the intercession of Mary of Loreto, may our Church learn once more to shelter the lost and lift the fallen.
Amen.
ACTIO — A Step from Laudato Si’ Through Synodality
There is a need “to restore the various levels of ecological equilibrium, establishing harmony within ourselves… with others, with nature and with God.”
(LS 210)
Today I will practice Synodality by restoring harmony in one concrete way:
I will go to Mass and return to this place of prayer, offering once more my daily Lectio for the removal of Salazar’s tribute to Bishop Matthiesen.
I will speak one honest, charitable truth to someone in the Church who prefers silence—
not to accuse, but to invite;
not to condemn, but to co-discern;
not to burden, but to lift the yoke together,
until the whole Body walks in the light with one heart and one voice.
🎵 “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother” — The Hollies
🎬 Movie: “The Two Towers” (2002)
Email to Bishop Zurek
Subject: A Request for Vigilance and Hope on This Last Day of the Liturgical Year
Your Excellency,
It was good to see you home at the Cathedral for Thanksgiving Mass. As we reach the end of the liturgical year and prepare for the Centennial, I write with a simple concern that continues to weigh heavily on my conscience.
In prayer, especially through the Gospel’s call to stay vigilant and strengthen what remains, I keep returning to the tribute erected by John Salazar in honor of Bishop Matthiesen. Because it was built by a priest who used his “second chance” to harm children in our diocese, its continued presence risks sending a message that wounds survivors and obscures our call to truth.
As we prepare to celebrate 100 years of the Diocese of Amarillo, I humbly ask that we consider removing this tribute as an act of healing and justice—so that our Centennial begins in truth, not silence.
Thank you for hearing my heart. Be assured of my prayers for you and for our diocese.
In Christ,
Darrell Glenn
My Story
“In memory of the death of innocence of the victims of clergy sexual abuse. When innocence dies…a life stops. It is essential that we never forget.“
- Bishop Matthiesen, who rode the white horse of public activism even as he brought abusive priests into our diocese such as John Salazar—wounds that still mark us today. I spoke with him often, pleading with him to reconsider his “no regrets” about bringing those priests here…
- Bishop Yanta, who sought to enforce the Dallas Charter even when Bishop Matthiesen resisted him, and who bore the personal and pastoral cost of doing so. I met with Bishop Yanta about Bishop Matthiessen’s “no regrets” stance. He listened. He believed me. He acted where he could. And when he retired, he urged me—quietly but firmly—to keep speaking out.
- Bishop Zurek, who told the Diocese of Amarillo he had “no facts” about the Philadelphia report even as Amarillo’s connection to that tragedy was headline news. When I continued to speak out, as Bishop Yanta had once urged me to do, he later wrote that I was not among the faithful and loyal disciples whom the Lord Jesus desires.