Gospel Reflection 20080127
Be true to yourself!
A humbling thought: Christ too struggled with temptation. Because he became like us in all things, except sin, he helps us appreciate that there is no shame in being human. Pride, excessive self-sufficiency, worship of illusory pleasures of this culture— these are the temptations of today's desert. Renew your resolution to be whole and holy as you wrestle with the demons in your life.
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Are you just praying about doing the Lord’s work, or are you actually doing it?
January 27, 2008
Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Gospel
Mt 4:12-23
When Jesus heard that John had been arrested,
he withdrew to Galilee.
He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea,
in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali,
that what had been said through Isaiah the prophet
might be fulfilled:
Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,
the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles,
the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light,
on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death
light has arisen.
From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say,
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers,
Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew,
casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen.
He said to them,
“Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
At once they left their nets and followed him.
He walked along from there and saw two other brothers,
James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John.
They were in a boat, with their father Zebedee, mending their nets.
He called them, and immediately they left their boat and their father
and followed him.
He went around all of Galilee,
teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom,
and curing every disease and illness among the people.
Matty, believes he should be a soul winner for Christ. In the church Bible class he has learnt how to share his faith with people and lead them to Christ. But he has never done it. Matty prays to God to give him a sign so that he would know exactly when to start. One day Matty is traveling in the subway to meet his Bible study friends. He has his Bible in his handbag. A young man about his own age enters the train and sits next to Matty. He wears a T-shirt with the slogan, “WHO HAS THE MOST TOYS WINS.” Matty bends his head and says a little prayer, “Lord give me a sign when to start.” The young man’s cell phone rings. His friend wants him to come and pick him up. After arguing with his friend awhile, he says, “All right, I will come to the church and pick you up, but I will not enter the church. You will find me at the parking lot,” and hangs up. Matty bends his head a second time and prays, “Lord, I’m still waiting for the sign!” Finally, the young man turns to Matty and says, “You know, I got this weird friend who skips work on Sundays to go to church. I don’t get it.” Matty smiles, bends down his head once again and says, “Lord, the sign, the sign!” End of story.
Today’s gospel is on Jesus beginning his public work. After living a private life for more than thirty years, how did Jesus know exactly when to end the hidden life and begin his public work? Our first thoughts are to suppose that, of course, God his Father spoke to him and communicated to him exactly when to begin. He got a special green light from God. But today’s gospel suggests that Jesus probably arrived at this decision the way most people do, that is, by inferring from the things happening in their lives what God is trying to say to them.
Our gospel reading begins, “When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea” (Matthew 4:12-13). Jesus hears that John has been arrested. He figures that the renewal movement that John started would be needing a new leader. He looks around and finds that none is more suited to assume leadership of the movement than he himself. That’s it. That is all the sign he needs. He says farewell to his family and moves on to meet the challenges of his public calling. Unlike Matty in our story, Jesus does not sit there and wait for a special supernatural sign from above. Rather, Jesus learns to read the “signs of the times,” that is, to infer from the goings-on in the world around him what God might be saying of him.
What needs do we see in the world around us? Do you, for example, see the need for more messengers of God’s love and peace in our world today? What can you personally do about it, given the personal circumstances of your life? When are you actually going to start doing something about it, or are you, like Matty, waiting for a special sign from God? Well, that sign may never come. We, like Jesus, must learn to read the “signs of the times” in which we live.
Note that Jesus does not start preaching immediately. If he had started preaching right away from his home town in Nazareth, they would probably have silenced him there and then. The first thing he does is to look for a location and a community that would support his vocation. He finds it in Capernaum where he quickly attracts a group of friends and disciples. Even though he is the son of God, Jesus does not work like a lone ranger. He shares his vision and his ministry with people. That is why, even though he was stopped and killed just three years after, they could not stop his work and his vision for a new world of sisters and brothers. In Jesus we see not only what it means to do God’s work but also how to do God’s work.
Let us ask God today to give us the wisdom to read the “signs” of our own times so that we can correctly infer from events in the world around us what demands God is making of us, as individuals and as a church. And let us ask for the courage to start doing it, not just praying about it.
Gospel Reflection 20080120
Keep knocking on God's door.
Like a loving parent, God wants only the best for us. Our prayer should be confident, not timid, knowing that God will answer if we are persistent in our knocking. Let's do the same thing when others knock on our door for help.
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What is God’s plan for your life? Do envy and jealousy lock you into vying for the limelight instead of playing second fiddle?
January 20, 2008
Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
Gospel
Jn 1:29-34
John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him and said,
“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.
He is the one of whom I said,
‘A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me
because he existed before me.’
I did not know him,
but the reason why I came baptizing with water
was that he might be made known to Israel.”
John testified further, saying,
“I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from heaven
and remain upon him.
I did not know him,
but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me,
‘On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain,
he is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’
Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God.”
A kite was consumed by envy of the eagle. “How come he can fly so high? Everyone admires him and no one admires me.” One day the kite sees a hunter and calls out to him to shoot the eagle. The hunter replies that he would need to add some feathers to his arrow for it to reach the eagle. The kite pulled one of his best feathers and gave it to the hunter. That was not enough to reach the eagle. So the kite pulled another and then another and yet the arrow was not quite able to reach the eagle. Before long all the kite’s best feathers were gone and he was no longer able to fly. The hunter simply turned round and shot the kite as his catch for the day. The moral of the story: envy and jealousy consume the person who harbors them before the person for whom they are harbored.
There is a difference between envy and jealousy. Envy is dissatisfaction with what belongs to us and coveting what belongs to another. We can envy people for their looks, their possessions or their relationships, wishing we could take their place. Jealousy, on the other hand, is the fear that what is ours may be lost to another. Both envy and jealousy rob people of their inner peace as they devise ways to eliminate the person they perceive as standing in the way to their personal fulfillment.
Looking at the way things are in our world today, it would seem that envy and jealousy are normal human traits. But the example of John the Baptist shows us that true personal fulfillment and greatness lies not in how we may compare with others but in how faithful we are to our God-given roles in life.
How many people like to hear that the person who succeeded them is doing better than they did? Nobody. Here John is a rare example. John started the Kingdom of God movement. Jesus succeeded him as leader of the movement after Herod imprisoned John and had him executed. Yet whenever John speaks of Jesus he speaks of Jesus as better than him. He describes Jesus as the bridegroom and himself as only his best man (John 3:29). Notice how he introduces Jesus to his own disciples in today’s gospel:
The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, "Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, “After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me” (John 1:29-30).
As a result of this endorsement, two of his disciples left him and followed Jesus (verse 37). These were the first disciples of Jesus according to John’s Gospel. John summarized his whole attitude to Jesus in one statement: “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30).
Why is John so content and satisfied with playing the second fiddle rather than vying with Jesus for the limelight? It is because he knows exactly the reason for him being in the world. He knows why he came into this life: “I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel” (John 1:30). Because he knows why he is here, John can tell when he has done his bit. He can tell when it is time to hand the baton to another. Why did you come into the world? What is God’s plan for your life? If you do not have a personal answer to this question, chances are that you will spend your life chasing after everything and nothing, in a rat-race of envy and jealousy with those you perceive as better than you. Instead of living and working in harmony and cooperation with others, people who do not know the reason for their being are often driven by rivalry and competition.
But look at the flowers in the field. Some are shrubs and some are herbs, some are red and some are white, some are yellow and some are blue; yet all of them are beautiful. The poinsettia, the daffodil, the rose, all are beautiful because they have their different purposes. Even though John felt he was not worthy to untie Jesus’ sandals, Jesus did turn round to say of him, “Among those born of women there has risen no one greater than John the Baptist” (Matthew 11:11).
It makes no sense to say, as John the Baptist said, that someone born after him existed before him. The person who would say that is either mad or would mean something that goes beyond the realm of logic. So, either John the Baptist was crazy or he was speaking on a level which surpasses normal thinking. That level beyond the realm of logic is the horizon of faith. It is a horizon opened up for man by the gift of the Holy Spirit. Faith does not limit logic: rather, it opens it up to the way of thinking proper to God, himself the source of all reason and logic. It is those who would have us depend only on what human reason can understand who are limiting the horizons of humanity. From the perspective of faith, then, John pointed to Jesus as the one who “ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.” What is John doing here? He is professing his faith in the divinity of Jesus. For only the divine can exist before being conceived in the womb. All other human persons are created by the divine at the moment of conception. What is more, in pointing out that this man Jesus is the one who existed before him, John is also professing his faith in the incarnation. That divine person who existed before me is here, now, in the flesh: he is Jesus of Nazareth. The Baptist goes further still. He does not just affirm that Jesus is God made man, he also explains why Jesus has come; he predicts the future of Jesus. He says: “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” In other words, the mission of Jesus is to remove from the world the cause of all evil, pain, suffering and death. This divine person made flesh is here as the Savior of the world.
Gospel Reflection 20080113
Catch Jesus' vision.
Vision isn't just physical sight. Vision sees beyond today, beyond appearances, beyond the obvious. It gives a sense of direction and compels us forward. Without vision, the people perish. Jesus cured the blind, but his real concern was to impart God's vision. Jesus presents a Kingdom where compassion, justice and mercy reign, where life, not death, gets the last word.
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Baptism – An Act of Faith or A Social Custom (since science and human philosophy are the new dogma & exaltation of material possessions and satisfaction of the senses are the new morality)?
January 13, 2008
The Baptism of the Lord
Gospel
Mt 3:13-17
Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan
to be baptized by him.
John tried to prevent him, saying,
“I need to be baptized by you,
and yet you are coming to me?”
Jesus said to him in reply,
“Allow it now, for thus it is fitting for us
to fulfill all righteousness.”
Then he allowed him.
After Jesus was baptized,
he came up from the water and behold,
the heavens were opened for him,
and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove
and coming upon him.
And a voice came from the heavens, saying,
“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
John was preaching a baptism of repentance, and large numbers of people were coming to John to repent of their sins. They wanted to change the direction of their lives and be reconciled with God. Jesus came along with the crowd. Even though he is the sinless one, he numbered himself among the others and proceeded to the Jordan as if he too was a sinner like them. To save people from sin, Jesus would identify himself so closely with fallen man that his death on the cross would work the expiation of their sin. In our own baptism, we were united to Christ. Just as we were buried with him in death to sin, so shall we arise to new life in him. His resurrection is the guarantee of the new life we have in him.
We read that soon after Jesus' baptism, John was arrested and the Kingdom of God movement needed a new leadership. When Jesus heard it he went up and took on the task, in this way implementing the commitment he made at his baptism to promote the kingdom of God. We can see that for Jesus baptism was not just a question of what he could receive but also very much a question of what he could contribute to the cause of the kingdom of God on earth. John F. Kennedy's saying, "Ask not what your country can do for you, rather ask what you can do for your country" can also be applied to our relationship with God and the Church.
What are we doing, each one of us, to promote the kingdom of God? Are we ready to consecrate and dedicate ourselves wholly to the service of the kingdom of God just as Jesus did? Let us today with Jesus renew our baptismal commitment to bear witness to the Good News of the kingdom of God in word and in deed.
Alas, much of this means nothing to many Christians today because they fail to think in terms of faith. What has caused this failure and why? I offer one inadequate response. Today more than ever at least two forms of idolatry weaken and even destroy a heartfelt and faith-felt appreciation for Christ’s way of dealing with us. The first is rationalism, the second is materialism. Rationalism means that only those things which human reason understands or invents can be true or real. Materialism means that reality is seen only in terms of those things we can see, touch, taste, smell or hear. Rationalism idolizes the mind; materialism, the senses. Rationalism was born around the time of the Reformation and was an angry reaction against any truth being given from on high: it abhors all that would suggest that the human mind is not infallible in and of itself. Materialism was born later and, strangely, is in part a reaction against the rationalists and in part an expression of rationalism. The materialist aims lower than the rationalist by stating that the senses and the needs of the senses are all that matters. He is like the rationalist in exalting the absolute independence of the human being from any superior being.
The practical result of these two forms of idolatry is the exaltation of science and human philosophy as the new dogma, or the exaltation of material possessions and satisfaction of the senses as the new morality. These two ways of thinking and living have replaced the dogma of God’s truth in Christ and the morality of obeying God’s commandments: modern man claims that he can know everything and have everything, and therefore needs nothing and no-one, certainly not God or Church. As is obvious, these attitudes repress the deepest truth and spiritual longings of the human heart. They are self-sufficient and narrow and create an atmosphere of intellectual arrogance as well as an obsessive greed for more and more material possessions or experiences. They alienate the human being, not just from God, but from fellow and self.
To such people, talk of religion, God, prayer and spiritual virtue is all nonsense. Indeed, it is more than nonsense: it is dangerous because it would suggest that science and the human mind must be controlled by higher values, and it would seek to deprive people from indulging every and any sensual impulse. Religion is seen by them as contrary to freedom as they understand it. The sad thing is that the people who are affected, if not infected, by rationalism and materialism are not all atheists or non-Christians. Because they live and work in a world whose law and social intercourse are permeated by these idolatries, Christians too bring them to bear within their own homes and also within the Church, in small ways and big ways. For example, while there can often be good reasons for it, many people come to Church late and leave early. It is difficult not to wonder if perhaps this is a sign of how much they begrudge giving time to God – “let’s get it over with quickly!” “I shouldn’t be here listening to all this, but at home sitting at my computer or TV, or out at a sports game: this Church business has become an annoying interruption of my week!” Baptism and marriage are often no more than social customs, become more important for the clothes bought and the parties celebrated than for the supernatural grace and commitment they entail. In homes, crucifixes are less and less seen, perhaps because they are an embarrassment to “sophisticated” guests or, even worse, because no one even remembers any more what they are or signify. Prayer is no longer taught or practiced at the fireside; God is not only far from the heart, but even from the lips; lips have become frozen because hearts have first. Parents are embarrassed to pray with their children – perhaps because they never pray with each other, or even at all?
What can be done to counter these losses of deep and convinced faith among ourselves? Whatever it is, it must begin at the beginning and it must begin with “me”: it must lead to a rediscovery of the meaning of baptism, my baptism. In a crisis, go back to first principles, to basics. It means somehow taking a pause, setting up a red stop light, and keeping in check the mad rush of modern life. Imagine –and I know it may not be possible, but it illustrates my point- imagine you and your family just blocked off a week from the calendar and said, “This week we are going to stay home, turn off the phones and the TV and computers. We are going to take a long hard look at what our goals are as family and individuals; we are going to ask ourselves honestly if they are worthy of God; we will try and understand what it is that is exhausting us, making us edgy, bad-tempered, heedless of God and of one another’s true and beautiful selves. We will begin again with new resolve to live out our baptism and marriage; we can try to be more vigilant about bad influences on us and keep them in check, develop a culture of forgiveness in our home by regular confession, and live with more time and loving words for each other.” Imagine every family in this Church did this once a year! We would need to build a new church and have 10 Pastors on the staff! There would be fewer problems of the wrong kinds, and other people would begin to say, “show us, too, how to be free of the slavery of life’s relentless rush and its pagan idolatry of the human mind and senses.” We would have become witnesses! Is that really so hard to imagine? Maybe, rather than a week, a weekend would be enough, maybe one day. Call it a Jesus Day, a Jesus-with-us Day. Maybe you could get together and work out how to develop a model which would help other struggling marriages and families.
At any rate, the change will not happen unless each of us makes it happen. No Pastor has the magic staff of Moses to part the Red Sea for you. So each one, each marriage, each family, holds the key. God can do the impossible with you if, like Mary, you say individually and together, “let me, let us do what you say, Lord.” Summon with courage the ongoing grace of your baptism and of your matrimony to seek the will of the Holy Spirit in your lives.
The Baptism of the Lord, then, can be the basis, not just of a New Year resolution, but of almighty grace and strength to free us all from inadequate understandings of life which steal our hearts from God and which alienate society from him. Should we not all want to hear the voice of the Father over us, “You are my beloved son, daughter, couple, family. In you, I am well pleased”?
The longest journey begins with the smallest of steps. Listen, please listen, to the Holy Spirit and make your way back, humbly, patiently and perseveringly to the baptismal font.
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St. Anthony of Egypt
(251-356)
The life of Anthony will remind many people of St. Francis of Assisi. At 20, Anthony was so moved by the Gospel message, "Go, sell what you have, and give to [the] poor" (Mark 10:21b), that he actually did just that with his large inheritance. He is different from Francis in that most of Anthony's life was spent in solitude. He saw the world completely covered with snares, and gave the Church and the world the witness of solitary asceticism, great personal mortification and prayer. But no saint is antisocial, and Anthony drew many people to himself for spiritual healing and guidance.
At 54, he responded to many requests and founded a sort of monastery of scattered cells. Again like Francis, he had great fear of "stately buildings and well-laden tables."
At 60, he hoped to be a martyr in the renewed Roman persecution of 311, fearlessly exposing himself to danger while giving moral and material support to those in prison. At 88, he was fighting the Arian heresy, that massive trauma from which it took the Church centuries to recover. "The mule kicking over the altar" denied the divinity of Christ.
Anthony is associated in art with a T-shaped cross, a pig and a book. The pig and the cross are symbols of his valiant warfare with the devil—the cross his constant means of power over evil spirits, the pig a symbol of the devil himself. The book recalls his preference for "the book of nature" over the printed word. Anthony died in solitude at 105.
Comment:
In an age that smiles at the notion of devils and angels, a person known for having power over evil spirits must at least make us pause. And in a day when people speak of life as a "rat race," one who devotes a whole life to solitude and prayer points to an essential of the Christian life in all ages. Anthony's hermit life reminds us of the absoluteness of our break with sin and the totality of our commitment to Christ. Even in God's good world, there is another world whose false values constantly tempt us.
Gospel Reflection 20080106
Compare your actions with your intentions.
Temptations come our way so often that we may fail to notice them. Few are clear-cut choices between good and evil. Most concern little things, daily decisions about time, energy and money. We surprise ourselves when we don't have time or energy to help someone, to pray or to study a justice issue. Perhaps we have already given in to more tempting activities.
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We ALL Worship the Same God
January 6, 2008
Epiphany of The Lord
Gospel
Mt 2:1-12
When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea,
in the days of King Herod,
behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying,
“Where is the newborn king of the Jews?
We saw his star at its rising
and have come to do him homage.”
When King Herod heard this,
he was greatly troubled,
and all Jerusalem with him.
Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people,
He inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea,
for thus it has been written through the prophet:
And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
since from you shall come a ruler,
who is to shepherd my people Israel.”
Then Herod called the magi secretly
and ascertained from them the time of the star’s appearance.
He sent them to Bethlehem and said,
“Go and search diligently for the child.
When you have found him, bring me word,
that I too may go and do him homage.”
After their audience with the king they set out.
And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them,
until it came and stopped over the place where the child was.
They were overjoyed at seeing the star,
and on entering the house
they saw the child with Mary his mother.
They prostrated themselves and did him homage.
Then they opened their treasures
and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod,
they departed for their country by another way.
Mark Twain used to tell a joke that he put a dog and a cat in a cage together as an experiment, to see if they could get along. They did. So he put in a bird, pig and goat. They, too, got along fine after a few adjustments. Then he put in a Baptist, a Presbyterian, and a Catholic, and hell broke loose. Mark Twain did not even bother putting together a Christian, a Muslim, and a Hindu. That was unthinkable in his days. In today’s world, however, it has become obvious that Christians live in the same cage, in the same city, in the same world, with people of other religions.
Today, the feast of Epiphany, we remember the Magi who came from faraway lands to worship the baby Jesus. They came guided by a star. Being nature worshippers who had no scriptures, God revealed Himself to them through the means available to them in their own religion. Through the stars they were able to learn of the birth of Jesus and find their way to him. They came as pagans, they worshipped Jesus as pagans, and they went back home as pagans. They did not convert either to Judaism or to Christianity. Their worship was acceptable to God and God directed them in their journey home through a dream. This shows that God does have a relationship with people of other religions who are neither Jews nor Christians.
There is only one God, and all who seek God with a sincere heart are led to Him, though they call Him by different names. One thing Christians have in common with members of other religions is that we all worship the same God. We all are children of the same Father. This truth is hard for religious people to appreciate because religious people all over the world tend to claim that they have exclusive access to God and the truth.
In the Old Testament, the Jewish people believed that they were the exclusive people of God. They divided the whole world into two: Jews who were the people of God, and Gentiles who were not. Some of their prophets and wise men tried to correct this belief by reminding them of the universal love of God for all humankind. But it was not until Jesus came that this idea began to sink in. As the letter to the Ephesians states, Christ made both groups, Jews and Gentiles, into one people and broke down the dividing wall of hostility separating them (Ephesians 2:14). This is the message of the gospel that God commissioned Paul to preach: “that is, the Gentiles have become fellow heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel” (Ephesians 3:6).
“God has no favorites, but that anybody of any nationality who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him” (Acts 10:34-35).
In the past, Christians tended to make the same mistake as the Jews of old by claiming that there is no salvation outside the church. In more modern times the church opened the windows to the Spirit of God, and came to recognize that God’s truth is available to people of other religions, although not to the same degree that it is available in the church. The difference between the Christian faith and other faiths, therefore, is not that we possess the truth of God and they do not, but that, thanks to God’s unique revelation in Christ, we can now see God’s truth more clearly, love God more dearly, and follow God’s ways more closely in our daily lives. But we should always remember that if we go to sleep, even though we are on the better way, others who are on the not-so-better way could arrive at the goal before us. Let us reflect on this mystery today as we celebrate the Magi coming from pagan lands to worship the new-born Jesus while God’s “chosen people” in Jerusalem sleep unaware that the kingdom of God has come.
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St. Raymond of Penyafort
(1175-1275)
Since Raymond lived into his hundredth year, he had a chance to do many things. As a member of the Spanish nobility, he had the resources and the education to get a good start in life.
By the time he was 20, he was teaching philosophy. In his early 30s he earned a doctorate in both canon and civil law. At 41 he became a Dominican. Pope Gregory IX called him to Rome to work for him and to be his confessor. One of the things the pope asked him to do was to gather together all the decrees of popes and councils that had been made in 80 years since a similar collection by Gratian. Raymond compiled five books called the Decretals. They were looked upon as one of the best organized collections of Church law until the 1917 codification of canon law.
Earlier, Raymond had written for confessors a book of cases. It was called Summa de casibus poenitentiae. More than just a list of sins and penances, it discussed pertinent doctrines and laws of the Church that pertained to the problem or case brought to the confessor.
At the age of 60, Raymond was appointed archbishop of Tarragona, the capital of Aragon. He didn't like the honor at all and ended up getting sick and resigning in two years.
He didn't get to enjoy his peace long, however, because when he was 63 he was elected by his fellow Dominicans to be the head of the whole Order, the successor of St. Dominic. Raymond worked hard, visited on foot all the Dominicans, reorganized their constitutions and managed to put through a provision that a master general be allowed to resign. When the new constitutions were accepted, Raymond, then 65, resigned.
He still had 35 years to oppose heresy and work for the conversion of the Moors in Spain. He convinced St. Thomas Aquinas to write his work Against the Gentiles.
In his100th year the Lord let Raymond retire.
Comment:
Raymond was a lawyer, a canonist. Legalism is one of the things that the Church tried to rid herself of at Vatican II. It is too great a preoccupation with the letter of the law to the neglect of the spirit and purpose of the law. The law can become an end in itself, so that the value the law was intended to promote is overlooked. But we must guard against going to the opposite extreme and seeing law as useless or something to be lightly regarded. Laws ideally state those things that are for the best interests of everyone and make sure the rights of all are safeguarded. From Raymond, we can learn a respect for law as a means of serving the common good.
Quote:
"He who hates the law is without wisdom,/and is tossed about like a boat in a storm" (Sirach 33:2).
