Memorial of St. Andrew Dŭng-Ląc, Priest, and Companions, Martyrs
“Give glory and eternal praise to him.”
“You praised the gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone, that neither see nor hear nor have intelligence. But the God in whose hand is your life breath and the whole course of your life, you did not glorify.”
When the leaders of Babylon experienced the faith of the Jewish People they had made captive, they came up against a faith that did not tolerate idolatry! We do not think of idolatry as being a big sin item in contemporary society, but it’s with us! We so rely on things! It may not be gold or silver, but often it is status or power or pleasure or technology or elevating “youth” to a status we serve with excessive concern or admiration.
The fact of subtle – or not so subtle – idolatry in our lives in the twenty-first century reminds us of one of the prime signs of our times: practical atheism. Whether it’s practical or theoretical, atheism says, in effect, whether God exists or not does not really matter – it’s not important.
We are led right to an issue for contemporary Catholic Christians in this question: How much praise is there in our prayer life, if we even have a prayer life?
Hear it in today’s responsorial psalm verse: “Give glory and eternal praise to him.”
Reflection by Fr. Xavier Nacke, OSB
Posted in Articles for Ordinary Time, Daily Reflections