Last December in Syria, a Christian man (a taxi-driver and soon-to-be father) was beheaded because his brother was overheard complaining that the rebels [the anti-Assad side, fractious as it is] were acting like bandits. For this, the complainer's brother was murdered and his body fed to dogs.
That, then, is what kept running through my mind as I read the first reading (St Paul's exhortation that the Corinthians follow the good example of the people in Philippi -- and ultimately of Christ himself) and the Gospel ("love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you....be perfect as the Heavenly Father").
Paul pointing to Christ's example. |
In the light of the atrocity I was exposed to (and how many that do not reach our ears or eyes?), this command is all the more timely. These are not vague, namby-pamby enemies we're talking about here; not petty injustices or subtle forms of social exclusion. These are "to the death" enemies; the very definition of the word "enemy". And Jesus tells us to "love them, pray for them"; empty yourself and take the form of a slave for them; die for them. Pope Francis is recalling each of us to this central Christian "ethos" which is both a mindset ("have this mind among you which is yours in Christ Jesus") and a way of life; a way of seeing as well as a way of behaving.
Jesus wants his followers to manifest God's indiscriminate goodness precisely in the situations that most mask and distort his presence; to transubstantiate the situation [this is our priesthood] and make it a place where, though "sin abounded, grace abounds all the more." That's just what happened on Calvary.
4 comments:
So incredibly difficult to do. Just when I think I have put particular memories of events behind me, forgiven, up it pops in my consciousness, together with all those feelings of ill will for the other. Two steps forward, one step backwards, and so the effort begins anew. I offer it up in prayer, telling Jesus I hope what he has planned is worth all this earthly effort, and in my self-righteous indignation I think I can hear a faint chuckle from far away. - Jean
My Mom loved what a priest-friend of the family used to recommend: the prayer, "Heal my memory." And I read recently the advice to ask the Lord to show me which mystery of his own life most closely corresponds to this experience, so that I have the possibility of living this in communion with him. (I want to try this from now on!)
My Mom loved what a priest-friend of the family used to recommend: the prayer, "Heal my memory." And I read recently the advice to ask the Lord to show me which mystery of his own life most closely corresponds to this experience, so that I have the possibility of living this in communion with him. (I want to try this from now on!)
Sr. Anne, this is good advice, and I think I'll give it a try. I've also read that each time we remember an event from the past our mind changes the recollection somewhat, so that we never completely resolve our memory of the conflict. It's a good practice to allow what took place in the past to remain in the past, not to allow our minds to resurrect the event and spoil our present. The older I get the more aware I am of my personality flaws, though I don't believe I was any less flawed when younger. - Jean
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