Today the Scriptures speak in years, not minutes.
John writes to children, fathers, and young men—
not as categories of age, but as chapters of endurance.
Some have known forgiveness only briefly.
Some have known God “from the beginning.”
Some have fought, fallen, and fought again.
Anna appears in the Temple not as a flash of enthusiasm,
but as a woman weathered by decades.
Eighty-four years old.
Seven years married.
Many more widowed.
She does not rush toward redemption;
she outwaits it.
The child grows quietly in Nazareth.
The world spins impatiently.
But salvation advances in measured time,
not headlines.
God, it seems, prefers years.
“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
“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.”
“By combining faith and culture, they sow the seeds of the future, honor the image of God and build a better society.”
Dilexi te, §71
Am I willing to combine faith—one of the four pillars of our Diocesan Centennial— and culture in such a way that the seeds of the future are sown precisely among the victims of clergy abuse under Bishop Matthiesen’s “serious mistake,” so that the image of God might be honored where it was most denied?
Meditatio
This is the twenty-first day of praying for Synodality
regarding the Diocese of Amarillo’s Tribute to Bishop Matthiesen—
but the truth is, I have been praying for years.
Photo used by permission of Douglas Kirkland/Corbis via Getty Images
The tribute went up in 2001.
I asked Bishop Matthiesen himself to repent of his “serious mistake.”
He answered calmly: “no regrets“.
Bishop Yanta listened—truly listened—
but the weight of a Bishop Emeritus made action impossible.
Bishop Zurek acknowledged the “serious mistake,”
yet wishes to celebrate the Centennial
without naming its wound
or addressing the monument raised during it.
Below: A Fallen Centennial Banner
And so I find myself standing with Anna—
not seeing restoration,
only recognizing the Child
and trusting that redemption takes longer
than any one bishop, banner, or anniversary.
Perhaps this Centennial is not the celebration itself,
but the promise of one.
Contemplatio (Chestertonian Synthesis)
The modern world worships urgency
because it has lost patience with truth.
But God is not hurried—
He is persistent.
He saves the world through generations,
not press releases.
He heals wounds through memory,
not amnesia.
To wait faithfully is not to fail.
It is to refuse false endings.
Anna did not live to see Jerusalem redeemed—
yet she saw enough to know
that God had not forgotten.
Oratio Prayer — Day 21
Grant, we pray, almighty God,
that the newness of the Nativity
of your Only Begotten Son
may set us free from ancient silence.
Where years have hardened hearts, soften them.
Where memory has been buried, raise it gently.
Where truth has been postponed, give us courage to await it rightly.
May Synodality grow not by force,
but by faithfulness,
until justice and mercy meet.
Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Actio
“Never have we so hurt and mistreated our common home as we have in the last two hundred years.”
Laudato si’ §167
Today I choose patience that listens,
memory that heals,
and speech that waits for the right hour
rather than the loud one.
🎶 “Joy to the World”
it crowns them.
Anna waited long enough to recognize joy
without needing to control it.
🎬Movie: DISCOVER JESUS – The Child Jesus in the Temple (Luke 2:21-52) ESV
Email to Bishop Zurek
Subject: A Request for Synodal Discernment Regarding the Tribute to Bishop Matthiesen
Your Excellency,
I write to you during this Christmas season after many days of prayer and reflection, particularly through Lectio Divina, regarding the Diocese of Amarillo’s Centennial and the tribute honoring Bishop Matthiesen.
Over time, my focus has shifted. I am no longer asking simply for the removal of the tribute, but for the beginning of a genuine synodal process around it. I believe silence—however well-intended—has become pastorally burdensome, especially for survivors of clergy abuse connected to what Bishop Matthiesen himself described as a “serious mistake.”
My concern is rooted not in accusation, but in family: the family of survivors, the parish family, the diocesan family, and the wider Church. In the spirit of reason, religion, and loving kindness, I ask whether we might openly discern why this tribute exists, how it is received by those wounded by abuse, and what faithfulness to the Gospel requires of us during this Centennial year.
Christmas reminds us that God chose humility over grandeur, presence over silence, and truth spoken in love over avoidance. I respectfully ask that this matter be engaged synodally—with listening, dialogue, and prayer—so that healing, not division, may mark our celebration.
Please know that I remain committed to the Church, to the Eucharist, and to walking this path in charity and fidelity.
Respectfully in Christ,
Darrell Glenn
Diocese of Amarillo
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.