Tuesday of the Eighteenth Week of Ordinary Time
Being offended is not a moral virtue. Yes, being sensitive and empathetic to the plight of God’s little ones who suffer injustice and marginalization is right, but only if it rouses us to work for concrete solutions to help them. If we are merely offended and pay lip service to justice and conversion, then what good is that? We receive our reward: superficial absolution from feeling guilty.
Christ reminds us that interior conversion is not only harder to do but harder to see. And those who have the patience to accomplish this are those who see past the initial and the easy. Jeremiah says that the great sin of God’s people is incurable. That is only because human beings cannot cure themselves of sin. Rather, the Lord gives this absolution as a gift of restoration for the people he loves. Sin blinds us and we have to reach out for grace to restore vision.
Today is the memorial of St. John Vianney, patron of parish priests. He famously came into the hamlet of Ars, France, where his new flock was openly hostile to him. Yet through patience, gentleness, and the joy of the gospel, he won them over. He is reputed to spend up to twelve hours in the confessional each day, even obliging penitents on his deathbed. True purification starts in the heart and our willingness to let God transform us from our own sin to become the one who bears fruit that lasts.
Reflection by Fr. Pachomius Meade, OSB
Posted in Articles for Lent, Daily Reflections, Lenten Resources