That’s How the Light Gets In
I love this Leonard Cohen song, presented here as a poem. It is both a realistic and hopeful take on the future – and on our mission for peace and justice. As he says, “They’re going to hear from me”… and from all of us. Happy New Year!
Anthem
By Leonard Cohen
The birds they sang
At the break of day
Start again
I heard them say
Don’t dwell on what
Has passed away
Or what is yet to be
Yeah the wars they will
Be fought again
The holy dove
She will be caught again
Bought and sold
And bought again
The dove is never free
Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in.
We asked for signs
The signs were sent
The birth betrayed
The marriage spent
Yeah the widowhood
Of every government
Signs for all to see
I can’t run no more
With that lawless crowd
While the killers in high places
Say their prayers out loud
But they’ve summoned, they’ve summoned up
A thundercloud
And they’re going to hear from me
Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in
You can add up the parts
You won’t have the sum
You can strike up the march
There is no drum
Every heart, every heart to love will come
But like a refugee
Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in
One Response
There are cracks in Catholic doctrines about human sexuality and gender relations. It is crucial to identify them and keep offering ways for doctrinal development in continuity with apostolic tradition. When the church authorities try to cover the cracks with stuff made up of patriarchal gender ideology, such doctrinal cover-up must be investigated and exposed in the most charitable way possible. The sexual abuse crisis may be a blessing in disguise, the earthquake that might lead the church to discard the patriarchal scaffolding the obscures the Catholic faith.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!