Saturday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Today's Mass Readings

The prophet Ezekiel is often cryptic, full of apocalyptic imagery and his own esoteric, symbolic performance art. Today, however, he could be clearer. He lists the crimes of the people – taking part in pagan worship, adultery, theft and swindling, lacking charity for neighbor, playing favorites in disputes, and forsaking God’s law—and he calls on them to repent. The result of unrepentance is death—clear and simple.

The same holds true for us. Of course, death as the wage of sin should not be read so literally – as we observe the wicked frequently doing just fine in this world. The death is to the soul, the death is in character, and the death is wherein true happiness lies.

To repent will take a deliberate choice to change behavior and to seek out the healing sacrament. Both are key to success. A definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. We must change behavior, with the help of grace. Second, if we are Catholics, we must go to confession. Too often we have called ourselves Catholics but we refuse to accept confession as the ordinary means to restored grace. We can figure God will bestow an extraordinary means of forgiveness outside of the sacramental system. It would be like saying you do not have a 401(k) for retirement because you play the lottery weekly, and thus you assume it will eventually work out okay. Catholic theology believes that through the sacraments we can be transformed more and more into what Christ is, and know the moment when it occurs; at the same time, we can remove ourselves from that dignity in a moment of grave sin too! The healing sacrament is Reconciliation and Penance—clear and simple.

Reflection by Fr. Pachomius Meade, OSB