The Waiting Bishop

  Benedict Groeschel writes encouraging and powerful words about suffering in “Arise from Darkness – what to do when life doesn’t make sense.” He writes a great chapter on when the Church lets us down. First he clarifies what the Church actually is, stating that a priest or Bishop is only a representative of the Church. Then he goes into detail about how some people have suffered greviously at the hands of the Church – paling the vast majority of grievances into insignificance.

He tells a great tale of a waiting Bishop. An American, Bonadventure Brodick was appointed auxiliary Bishop of Havana. But the Cubans rejected having an American Bishop and sent him home. The Archdiocese of New York did not know what to do with him. He was put in charge of the annual Peter’s pence collection for the Holy See but nobody wanted a Bishop in charge of that and he did not last long. After appealing stating that it scandalous for a Bishop to be without work he was told to “Wait.” To support himself he finally opened a gasoline station.

Thirty years later Archbishop Spellman paid a visit to the gas station and Bishop Brodick welcomed him saying, “Come in. I’ve been waiting for you for thirty years!” In this time Brodick managed to invented the gadget that stops the petrol running after the tank is full. Groeschel suggests that perhaps this man should be the patron saint of the patient.

He also has a collection of prayers about suffering and illness at the back of the book. He includes St Francis’ prayer about our most high glorious God:

“Most high, glorious God,

Lighten the darkness of my heart

And grant me Lord,

A correct faith,

A certain hope,

A perfect charity,

And a sense of knowledge,

So that I might carry out

Your holy and true command.”