Pulling Back the Curtain

“Curtains always hide something, either the good or the bad! Their job is to hide!

If you see a curtain covering up an evil, tear it down and throw it away!” ~ Mehmet Murat ildan ~

As a child, one of my favorite movies was "The Wizard of Oz". Oz seems like this amazing place with this great and powerful entity that rules, but so much is lost and then gained when the reality is shown. As Toto pulls back that curtain to reveal this great and all powerful ruler is just an ordinary man living a false reality to himself and those around him. After the curtain was pulled he started to live in reality. He had to face both the good and the bad that happened while he lived and hid behind it. Many of us have things hidden behind a curtain in our lives. Sometimes it is to hide it from others and other times it is to hide it from ourselves. In the recent years we have also seen the curtain pulled back in regards to sexual abuse in the Church as well. The quote above perfectly addresses this evil that was hidden, "If you see a curtain covering up an evil, tear it down and throw it away!" This is a reality that happened and continued for way to long. Just like Oz, the Church and ourselves need these curtains pulled back for us to face and deal with the realities that lie behind.

Pulling back those curtains is not an easy task by any means. It does take courage to do so. Not just for the one who is pulling it back but also, at times, for those around as well. The Church has seen some walk away after what was revealed and others question those who are in power. It is not easy to see that some of the Cardinals, Bishops and Priests hid lives of abuse and betrayal. I know for me it has had a deep impact. This caused me also to pull back the curtain in my own life and made me face the reality of a Church that I love and see the great abuse of power and prestige that should not be. The Church is not a place where curtains should hang to hide anything but a place where the light of Christ should shine in every corner and no darkness is cast to hide anything or anyone.

What makes it so scary to pull back these curtains in our lives? Honestly, think of curtains on a window, it hides from both sides. Those on the outside can not see in and those on the inside do not see out. Sometimes, we put up these curtains to hide the reality from people around us. If they don't see the reality of who we are, we are able to also deny it as well. No one will question us and we just go through the day. On a retreat recently, some of the curtains came down. Not because I pulled them, but because a force much greater then myself pulled them down. Not just to the side, but the curtains lay on the ground making it harder for me to just pull it closed again and ignore it. My faith and my relationship with God has been broken for awhile and that is a reality that I must face. It was both partly because I did not want to admit to myself as well as others around me. It is easier to be seen with my head bowed down with my hands in prayer then it is to be seen with my head down with tears running down my face while my hands are clenched in a fist. I stare at these last few lines and realize its easier to delete them, then publish them as people will see that curtain fall as they read it.Yet, this is what needs to be done.

Take some quiet time and pray or think on what curtains need to be taken down so you can be real with yourself and others around you.