Monday, February 26, 2024

Monday of the Second Week of Lent

(Daniel 9:4b-10; Luke 6:36-38)

In today’s first reading it is the prophet Daniel makes an extraordinary confession.  He not only recognizes himself as a sinner but confesses openly the guilt of the entire community.  Although it is true that everyone disobeys God’s commandments, few, probably even then, are willing to say it publicly.  Daniel also acknowledges that God is merciful. Perhaps for that reason he does not mind making a public confession.

In the gospel Jesus underscores God’s mercy.  He exhorts his disciples to imitate God’s readiness to forgive.  Only in this way, he says, might they be forgiven their many sins.

Whatever Became of Sin, we have all heard preachers refer to this book of fifty years ago.  The situation has only become laxer.  Few Catholics today are confessing regularly.  Perhaps attempting a modicum of fairness, they likewise tend to overlook others’ sins.  The result is a society where crimes like marital infidelity, media disinformation, and assisted suicide are justified.  Yet there is the Sacrament of Reconciliation where we can confess our sins and receive God’s mercy.  Society would be stronger if more took advantage of it. 

Monday, December 9, 2019

Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

(Genesis 3:9-15.20; Ephesians 1:3-6.11-12; Luke 1:26-38)

Many think that priests find hearing confessions interesting.  They don’t. They consider time in

the confessional tedious work however necessary it may be.  Very often people confess the same says.  Viewing pornography seems to be the sin most confessed today at least by men.  Today’s fest testifies to one person’s escaping the scourge of sin completely.  As a special favor of God, Mary was conceived without original sin.  In turn she is to play a critical role in God’s plan of overcoming the scourge of sin I the world.

Sin begins, of course, at the beginning, just after creation.  Adam eats the forbidden fruit.  His sin readily gives way to others.  No sooner does God confront the man with his disobedience than Adam denies responsibility for it.  He says that because she gave the fruit to him, he ate it.  The woman, who will be called “Eve,” likewise refuses to accept responsibility for the sinful act.  She blames the serpent.  Fast forward to the gospel for a unique take on humanity. “Full of grace,” Mary obeys God’s word by assenting to His request to bear Jesus, God’s “Son.”  She accepts this responsibility despite the fact that she cannot understand exactly how it will happen. 

We are somewhat like Adam and Eve and somewhat like Mary.  We sin, often enough looking for excuses to justify ourselves.  But we also take advantage of the grace that Mary’s son, Jesus, has won for us.  In the end we confess our sins, accept God’s grace, and resume our moral responsibilities. 

Friday, February 15, 2019

Friday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

(Genesis 3: 1-8; Mark 7:31-37)

It is a classic axiom that humans do not choose evil because it is bad.  Rather they choose it under the aspect of some good that it brings.  In today’s first reading the serpent tempts the woman by mentioning apparent advantages of eating the forbidden fruit.  First, her “eyes would be opened”; that is, she will have gained insight or knowledge.  Then it adds that she and her mate “will be like gods.”  They will not only know more but will decide for themselves right and wrong.  Once the woman’s reason has been stirred by the serpent’s ideas, she imagines other benefits.  The fruit becomes “pleasing to the eye” and apparently to the palate.

The story is reflected in every sin.  The thief prizes another person’s treasure more than the person’s right to keep what she has legitimately obtained.  The fornicator thinks little of the harm he creates by satisfying his lust but mostly of the pleasure it gives.  Even people who know well of the evil that sin incurs may commit it anyway for the sense of autonomy it brings.

In today’s gospel as everyday Jesus is proclaimed as doing the Father’s gracious will.  He restores hearing and clear speech to the man as a sign of God’s love.  Such love is manifested in every judgment of conscience that some act would be evil.  In refusing to sin, we acknowledge that God forbids evil acts because He loves us.

Thursday, January 15, 2014

Thursday of the First Week in Ordinary Time

(Hebrews 3:7-14; Mark 1:40-45)

A retired preacher of boys’ retreat was asked why he gave up the practice.  He answered that the fire and brimstone that he used to scare the boys no longer had a positive effect.  He said that once boys were visibly shaken by exaggerated descriptions of eternal punishment, but they had come to dismiss the possibility.  Perhaps the author of the Letter to the Hebrews is aware of this tendency in the second reading today.

The reading quotes the Old Testament in describing the effect of sin.  It does not say that sinners will be tortured but, much more simply, that they not enter into God’s rest.  Then it encourages readers to become allergic to sin so that they do not surrender to its promptings.

Sin is allowing selfish desires to take precedence over doing God’s will.  In a sexual temptation sin is  saying that one’s desire for pleasure is more important than the personal integrity of that person’s partner or, indeed, of the person’s own integrity.  We never want to become comfortable with this kind of thought.  Indeed, we want to resist it from the beginning.

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Ash Wednesday

(Joel 2:12-18; II Corinthians 5:20-6:2; Matthew 6:1-6.16-18)

As silver tarnishes with time, we lose our baptismal innocence.  Our appetites deceive us in wanting more pleasure, power, or prestige than our due.  Our minds also can lead us astray.  Often we think that we might do a little evil in order to achieve a significant good.  This is the justification for artificial contraception.  But the resultant harm often enough lies beneath the surface and may not reveal itself for eons.  In any case, sin not only destroys us inwardly through the loss of innocence, but our downfall like silver that has lost its shine also results in others not being drawn to God.  In the second reading St. Paul asks us to reverse the process.

Paul could hardly be more attention-grabbing than when he writes that Christ became sin to save humans from their sinfulness.  He is not implying that Jesus was a kind of Robin Hood himself doing evil in order to bestow something good on humanity.  Rather he is saying that Jesus was executed as a criminal at the hands of a totally corrupt humanity represented by the jealous Jewish leaders, the brutal Roman authority, and the cowardly disciples.  Paul tells the Corinthians that they have been spared the necessity of such errant behavior.  They only have to take advantage of the gift by recognizing their sins.

The same is our task during Lent.  We first ask ourselves what sins are weighing us down – lust, harsh judgment, perhaps lying and cheating.  Then we confess our faults in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  Finally, we use the rest of the forty days doing a penance that sets us on the road to reform.

Homilette for Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Wednesday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time

(Romans 2:1-11; Luke: 11:42-46)

In allowing for human failure, the Church must take care not to accept it as permissible. Sin not only damages human relations, it also undermines the thanksgiving offering that the Church makes to the Creator. Paul in the first reading today shows urgency about not condoning sin.

Paul indicates that God’s tolerance of sin is an act of mercy not permission. In not destroying sinners outright, God wants them to take advantage of His goodness by repenting. But Paul is clear that the time for repentance is limited. Sooner or later, sinners will have to pay the price of their iniquity. Paul also emphasizes that God plays no favorites. Poor as well as rich who do not turn their backs on sin will face annihilation.

Perhaps we tolerate our own sins with the thought that striving for perfection leads to neurosis. We also make excuses for our failings with such banalities as “charity covers a multitude of sins.” But perfection is a goal, not an expectation. Only by striving for it can we, with God’s help, approach perfection. It is worth the effort because it gives God glory and, again with God’s grace, merits for us eternal life.

Homilette for Thursday, September 6, 2007

Thursday, XXII Week of Ordinary Time

(Colossians 1 and Luke 5)

The Scripture readings today use two powerful images for sin. In the Letter to the Colossians sin is darkness which blurs life’s goal. In the Gospel of Luke sin is the depths of the sea which entrap us from proceeding to that goal. In our parish sin keeps two sons from working to assist their mother at home and to support the children that they have engendered.

Jesus has come to deliver us from sin. He is the light to dispel the darkness like an enormous lantern in a lighthouse that guides ships to ports. He is also the director of fishermen who cast nets deep into the sea to bring home food for humans.

Often, however, we have difficulty leaving sinful ways. Peter in the gospel tells the Lord to depart from him. He may just feel unworthy but also he may not want to accept quite yet the grace that will make him worthy. Sinners’ taking responsibility for past actions often means making uncomfortable adjustments in their lives. Imagine the burden of paying child support because of selfish sexual activity that parts of society foolishly see as fun. But such needless worry itself approaches sin. Repenting sin means receiving Christ as our soul companion – a gift worth all the gold and silver submerged at the bottom of the seas.

Homilette for Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Tuesday, VI Week

(John 16)

If you are scratching your head over what Jesus means in the gospel today, you are in good company. It is said that St. Augustine avoided the passage as very difficult. But this doesn’t mean that scholars today are left without an opinion.

First, it should be noted that the word convict is somewhat literal and does not fit well with each object. It would be better to say that the Holy Spirit Advocate proves the world regarding sin, righteousness, and condemnation. Not that the world will ever note its mistakes, however. Rather, the Spirit will act in the minds of Christian disciples to relate to them the truth about Jesus.

The first error of the world which the Spirit brings to light is the sin of refusing to believe in Jesus. The perpetrators of this sin are more than those Jews who put Jesus to death. They include people who refused to believe in him after he worked many signs and those who still today refuse to believe after being told about Jesus’ resurrection.

The error of righteousness concerns the Jews’ putting Jesus to death for claiming to be God’s son. The power of the Spirit which we can sense within us shows that Jesus has indeed gone to God and so is as righteous as he said. If he weren’t, then how could Christian disciples have the Holy Spirit? On the other hand, those who executed Jesus have proven to be the ones in the dark.

The final error regards condemnation. The Spirit’s presence to the disciples, once again, shows that Jesus, whom the world condemned, has been the righteous one all along. On the other hand, Satan, the prince of the world, is proven guilty. We should explain how Satan, the guilty one, still seems at liberty to ensnare humans. The gospel would answer that he has no power over the true believer. Regarding others, it would say that his limited power will last until Jesus returns in glory.

Jesus’ statement here is not meant as mental gymnastics for his listeners. Rather, it is intended to give us a profound desire to experience the full sense of the Holy Spirit. The renewal of the Spirit’s presence on Pentecost should reaffirm our faith by showing the sin of disbelief. It should further move us to imitate Jesus, the righteous one. Finally, it should strengthen our resolve not to submit to Satan, who has already been condemned of untruth.