Thursday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time
(Jeremiah 18:1-6; Matthew 13:47-53)
Preachers today often speak of God’s “unconditional
love.” Rightly understood, the term
indicates that God only wants human flourishment. Unlike humans, God doesn’t reserve His
affection for some and withhold it from others.
Yes, God has a special love for the poor, but this does not mean that He
does not care as well for the rich.
Yet it seems that some run too fast with the idea of God’s
unconditional love. They say that it
assures everyone a place in the Kingdom.
They make the unfounded claim that nothing anyone does might alienate him
or her from eternal life. A funeral
director, who heard many homilies about God’s mercy, said that universal
salvation was one of the results of Vatican II!
But, of course, the bishops at the Council arrived at no
such conclusion, nor could they do so today.
It would counter Jesus’ teaching in this mass’s parable. Not all of the huge catch of fish merit
keeping. Some are worthless and are to
be discarded. Nevertheless, we might pray
that the “worthless fish” take note and change their ways the second time
around.
