'Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner' | National Catholic Reporter

'Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner' | National Catholic Reporter by MSW. MGB: As I was drafting these comments (in the shower) I thought I had gotten them down pat.  I got out, reached for the towel and pulled the towel rack almost off the wall.  Oy.  Five minutes were spent searching for the screw, which I could not find in the bathroom trash (lovely).  I looked at the rack and the screws were in - I had simply separated the mountings from the dry wall.  Not something I can fix before going to work.  That is kind of the message of Lent - you can't handle it, God can, let him.  This phrase actually does come from recovery - but to get it, one must hit bottom and then spend a lifetime overcoming the feelings of entitlement one sees in the anger on MSW's flight to Chicago.  Entitlement, a fancy way of saying pride, bedevils us all.  It is what Jesus spent an uncertain time in the dessert confronting and it is what the Church confronts now, especially among those who do not wish to  grant mercy to those who, while sinners, are not sinning in seeking to find Christ in Communion and love with a new spouse, or with a partner of the same sex.  This will be a tough nut to crack, but I wish us all well in doing so. May we listen to the dissenters, both left and right - as the mercy we seek is sometimes seeing their truth rather than insisting on the Truth, which only resides in God.