Thursday, March 17, 2022

 Thursday of the First Second Week of Lent

(Jeremiah 17;5-10; Luke 16: 19-31)

Although a humorist, Mark Twain had a negative assessment of humans.  Typical of his attitude is his thought, “of all the animals, man is the only one that is cruel.  He is the only one that inflicts pain for the pleasure of doing it.”  His image of the human corresponds to what is heard in today’s readings.

Jeremiah calls the human heart “more tortuous that all else” and “beyond remedy.”  He thinks anyone who trusts in humans is “cursed.”  Jesus describes such a man in the gospel parable.  The rich man is so self-satisfied that he is blind to the beggar at his door.  It is as if his face was so swollen with at that he can no longer see clearly.

Not all humans ignore the voice of God in their conscience.  Instructed by Christ in the gospels, Christians should be attentive to its call.  We strive to treat each person with respect.  We care especially for the weak.  We even are kind to animals who are useful to and in ways resemble humans.  Christians are hardly the only good people, but we have every reason to strive for moral perfection.

Tuesday, September 20, 2016

Memorial of Saint Andrew Kim Tae-gon, Saint Paul Chong Ha-sang, and companions, martyrs

(Proverbs 21:1-6; 10-13; Luke 8:19-21)

Mark Twain, twisting conventional wisdom, once observed, "You can fool all of the people some of the time and some of the people all of the time." It is true that men and women are often duped by fine dress and quick talk. The author of the Book of Proverbs, however, assures us in the first reading that God is not so gullible.

The sage states upfront that God directs hearts however He wills. He means that God, knowing the soul of every person, will bring the honest to good fortune and the wicked to ruin. The wise man then provides a series of assurances for those who still wonder about justice in the world.  He says the rash will end in poverty, the wicked will draw no compassion, and frauds will find themselves trapped in their lies.

The Book of Proverbs may seem naive in a world that keeps chasing fame, fun, and fortune. Some people, after all, seem to care exclusively about themselves. But only God knows if they live as nicely as they make others believe.  And only He can say how long their comforts times will last.

Homilette for Monday, November 2, 2009

The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls Day)

(Wisdom 3:1-9; Romans 5:5-11; John 6:37-40)

Mark Twain once said about the Bible, “Most people are bothered about the verses that they do not understand, but the passages that bother me are those I do understand.” He meant that the word of God challenges us to assist others more and please ourselves less than we likely do. The consequences for not meeting those challenges, the Bible warns, are not at all reassuring.

And so we have All Souls Day to pray for the many people who had difficulty getting beyond pleasing themselves. They were not necessarily big sinners but people like most of us here, I am afraid, who could not pass up the opportunity to share a bit of gossip or to watch television rather than visit the lonely. Catholics have long placed these souls in Purgatory, a state not described in the Bible but logically deduced from squaring the prevalence of sin with belief in a merciful God.

We may have grown up thinking that Purgatory is punishment for venial sins. As far as one is prevented from enjoying what she comes to want more than anything else, there may be frustration to the point of pain involved in Purgatory. But the Eastern Church, what Pope John Paul II was fond of calling Christianity’s other lung, probably is closer to the mark when it sees Purgatory as a time of purification. In Purgatory we will work out our selfishness like a mother living in misery picks lice out of her children’s hair so that we might enter the presence of God without a blush of embarrassment. Our prayers today beseech God to expedite the process.