Memorial of Saint
Raymond of Peñafort, priest
(I John 4:19-5:4; Luke 4:14-22a)
When Jesus stands up in the synagogue of Nazareth to give
what has been called his inaugural sermon, he seems like a starry-eyed
charismatic. He makes no reference to
the Law by which the Jews lived. Rather
he emphasizes the Spirit that has come upon him to various oppressed
groups. But before one takes up the
banner of Jesus as a free spirit, some consideration of the value of law should
be made.
As much as law is sometimes dismissed as restricting people’s
freedom, it more regularly protects it.
Only the powerful would enjoy freedom of speech if there were no law
protecting one’s right to air her opinion in public. Similarly, unless there were laws directing
traffic, going to work in the morning would be a peril. We can truthfully say that Jesus did not mean
to abolish laws but to assure that the poor be included in their reach.
Today the Church celebrates the patron of lawyers, especially
canon lawyers, St. Raymond of Peñafort.
Raymond systemized previous papal decrees into a body of law that served
the Church from the thirteenth to the twentieth century. A Dominican priest who served as Master
General of the Order, Raymond also revised the Order’s constitution which also
withstood the vagaries of time. Raymond
of Peñafort died on this date in 1275, the hundredth year of his life.
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