Text: an RC member's account of Fr. Alvaro's Mass

This email is being widely circulated among members of Regnum Christi. It's an account of the same Mass I attended, celebrated by Fr. Alvaro, the head of the Legionaries of Christ.

I've reported my impressions of the same Mass/homily here.

Please post your comments here.

I've bolded parts of the text I found interesting. I have also scanned the text for typographic errors:

Dear family and friends,

This week each one of us has learned that our founder, Fr. Marcial
Maciel, has fathered a daughter now in her early twenties. Deeply
saddened and confused, I myself have internally sought to reconcile
the irreconcilable contradictions: the scandal of what he has done and
the foundation of the Legion and Regnum Christi. Having wrestled with
these truths in my heart and in prayer, I write to you to share some
of the grace and solace that has been poured over my poor soul during
this time.

Tonight, I attended mass in Kensington, Maryland, where Fr. Alvaro
Corcuerra, the Director General of the Legionaries of Christ and the
Regnum Christi Movement, celebrated mass and spoke to us during this
troubling time. I wish to share with you his words and hopefully this
may help you to find some peace.

The Mass began in great solemnity with readings from the book of Job.
How fitting that Job should be used because he was the man of
suffering, taunted by his friends that God had deserted him. Fr.
Alvaro began his homily in English and then switched to Spanish half
way through, hoping to be more articulate and allow what he was being
said to be translated properly into English. I will try to relate
faithfully only what he said and not my reflections, though what I
relate is not verbatim. I was also switching between languages
listening in both English and Spanish trying to grasp every word.

1. "I come here to be with you as a family. It is easier at times to
be together as a family when things are going well, but it is as a
family that we suffer together. I am heart broken and I am sorry if I
have caused you any suffering."

2. "With the recent events, I come to speak to you about them. Here we
must take them and place them in the heart of Christ.. Only he can
heal the broken-hearted. Only Christ can heal the suffering. Today, I
awoke at 2:00am. I was thinking about you. I prayed for you and I
asked Christ that he give to me all your sufferings. I am sorry for
any sufferings that I may have caused you. Let us put everything in
the heart of Christ."

3. "I come to you with complete openness of conscience. I am open. I
tell you what I know. Regarding the abuses that our Father Founder may
have committed. I have no precise data. I simply cannot confirm
anything. I don't know. We do know that our Father Founder has a
daughter, a girl."

4. "I was speaking to the Holy Father, Benedict XVI, about everything
almost a year and half ago. Sitting across from him, he said, "Come
closer." I moved around the corner (of the desk) so as to be nearer to
him, and I asked him. "What do you think of the Legion and Regnum
Christi?" The Holy Father replied, "You know what I think of the
Legion and Regnum Christi. I love them. I am near to them. Tell them
that I am near to them. My only concern is that you will be caught up
in the event and the news and that you will not grow. You must grow."
I tell this to you so that you may know that the Holy Father is near
to us."

5. "I have wanted to speak to each Legionary and consecrated
personally. This was very difficult. I had to tell them everything. I
had to also tell everything to Fr. John Walsh who brought me into ECYD
as a boy. I told Fr. Walsh and he told me about how a rocket launches.
The Legion and Regnum Christi are like a rocket. When a rocket
launches. It goes through different stages of the launch. In different
stages of the launch, parts of the rocket fall off. These parts of the
rocket must fall off in order for the rocket to launch properly. We
are in a new stage of the launch. Fr. John Walsh also told me that he
will only preach one thing now. As a priest, he will only preach the
Mercy of God."

6. "I as a priest have only received good from our Father Founder. I
received this beautiful charism and I have received my relationship
with Christ from him. This is what I have personally received. If
there is anyone who is suffering on my account. I am sorry."

7. "Before Nuestro Padre died, I spoke to him in Palermo. He told me.
The Legion of Christ and Regnum Christi are the Legion of CHRIST and
Regnum Christi of CHRIST. They belong to Christ and the Church. They
are of the Church. They do not belong to a person. They are for the
Church."

8. "During this time, Cardinal Franc Rode, Prefect for religious
orders, has been very near to us. He has been attending events with us
in Chile, in Brazil, etc. He told me," I tell you this not as a friend
but as a man who loves the Church and Christ. The Legion and Regnum
Christi are for the Church. They belong to the Church. And you, Fr.
Alvaro. You need to go to confession. .."..I was confused saying, well
I went last week and you know that I go weekly. The cardinal told me,
"You must confess your fear. You are not afraid of what people will
say, that is not your fault. You must confess because you fear the
lack of faith. This is Christ's work. This is a great time for
holiness." "

10. "The Church knows and the Church approves of everything that we
are doing. I am sorry for any suffering that this may have caused you.
The other day I was in Thornwood and I awoke and went for a walk in
the early morning out in the snow. I knelt down and prayed to God for
you. I put everything in the heart of Christ for you...(and at this
point, I cannot remember precisely what he said, but it was to the
effect that) Christ answered my prayer. I must believe and we must
have faith in the Church and Christ. We are Christ-centered and we
must continue Christ-centered. The Church knows and approves
everything."

This is all that I remember from the homily. After the homily, I took
advantage of the opportunity to speak to him, I relay this to you so
that it may help to resolve questions as to why there is no specific
statement from the Legion at this time. During the conversation, he
mentioned that some people are asking for a statement. They are
disappointed that there is not a written statement. He said that he is
speaking to the Holy Father and going step by step as the Church is
asking them. The statement that was to be made, has already been made, and it is the May statement of 2006. That is the statement that the Church has wanted to make. It affirms that the Church recognizes and
is grateful for the works of Regnum Christi and the movement.

I also very specifically mentioned that some would like the Church to
check each seminary and apostolic seminary so that it is sure that
they are following what the Church wants done. He assured me that the
Church knows and has approved. Everything is already approved.

Following this conversation, I turned from Fr. Alvaro and surprisingly
came face to face with Fr. Evaristo Sada. Fr. Evaristo Sada was
Nuestro Padre's secretary for may years. Many of us have met him.
Having managed to speak quietly to Fr. Alvaro, I began to cry with Fr.
Evaristo. And, here I share my own personal sentiments. I told him to
tell Fr. Alvaro that we are praying for him. Many of us are mostly
concerned about the Legionaries and the Consecrated. They are the ones
to be hurt the most. I also told him that I cried because of the
absolute humility and charity of Fr. Alvaro. And, would he please
console Fr. Alvaro by letting him know that we are putting up a
website where people can offer prayers and sacrifices as a spiritual
bouquet especially for the Legionaries and the Consecrated Men and
Women of Regnum Christi. He thanked me and mentioned that other Regnum
Christi families are adopting priests and consecrated. We could do
this also. Each family can adopt a Legionaries, a priest, a brother, a
consecrated and invite them for dinner...make them their own son or
daughter during this time. So many of them work hidden and alone, away
doing monotonous work such as secretarial and administrative duties.
(I understood this to refer to all priests and religious whether
diocesan or other.) Now is a time to welcome them into the home as
part of a family. Many of them are far away from their families.

In closing, I invite you to pray for each other, to pray for me, for
the Legionaries of Christ, the Consecrated members of the Regnum
Christi movement, all members and the Church. I thank everyone who has
been so near to me. I appreciate all that you have done. I hope that
this website with the opportunity to offer prayers and sacrifices for
the Legionaries and the Consecrated may soon be activated....hopefully
by tomorrow night. A running tally of your prayers and sacrifices will
show on the website. I hope to send this information to you soon. If I
don't e-mail you, you may be able to google the words spiritual
bouquet soon and find the website on your own.. It will be translated
into as many languages as possible...so you can send the link to your
friends in Mexico, Europe, etc.

Please post your comments here.