Twenty-second Sunday of Ordinary Time

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/090212.cfm

A staircase
in the Archabbey School

"Now, Israel, hear the statutes and decrees
which I am teaching you to observe,
that you may live, and may enter in and take possession of the land
which the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you.

In my own spiritual quest I have labored at ridding myself of a couple of heresies and adopting certain deep truths. The heresies have to do with a misreading of the above text from Deuteronomy; and the truths are embedded in the same words.

First, I don't want to believe the United States or North America is the promised land. I do not read American history as a reenactment of Exodus. where oppressed people fled the Egypt of Europe to create the new Kingdom of God in the  "new world." I am amused by all the biblical names in the American landscape but their promises faded a long time ago.

Secondly, and more importantly, I don't want to believe in determinism. That is the belief, espoused especially by Communism and wide-spread in American Exceptionalism, that the future is predictable and inherently better. Communism taught a theory of history that found a trajectory in the past which pointed to the future. I believe that heresy was first taught by the philosopher Hegel., but it is grounded in Christian belief also.

When I was ordained shortly after the Second Vatican Council, I thought certain things would inevitably come to pass: priestly celibacy would become optional; women would be ordained; the Sacrament of Penance would be revived; the Church would accept chemical and mechanical methods of birth control; and so forth. I probably believed I could make a difference and the world would be a better place for my having been here.  So far none of those expectations have come to pass and I no longer expect to see any of them in my life time. As to beyond my life time, I make no predictions.

I believe the sun will rise tomorrow but that's about as far as my predictions go. The future is not knowable. Living with that premise frees me of pride and pessimism. God gives us one day at a time and, as the King James Version says, "Sufficient unto the day is the trouble thereof." In my better moments I will even espouse Lamentations 3: 21-23:

But this I will call to mind;therefore I will hope:The LORD’s acts of mercy are not exhausted,his compassion is not spent;They are renewed each morning—great is your faithfulness!

As to my political beliefs: I don't think the world will or should welcome the American ideology of democracy, with its absurd "rights" for every imaginable "freedom." If Islamic nations develop their own forms of democracy, compatible with their religious beliefs, I say, "More power to them."  But I would rather see them develop stable, prosperous economies and forms of government where everyone has the opportunity to develop their potential and contribute to the common welfare. How that might come about I cannot imagine, and I am sure American imperial interventions only make matters worse.

Now, concerning my certain deep truths:" I want to develop a deeper virtue of Penance. I have to admit I have come to that Sacrament reluctantly. Since arriving in southern Indiana almost five years ago, I have confessed my sins monthly to a long-suffering Benedictine priest. He continues to recommend a daily examination of conscience and yet I hesitate at the door, unwilling to submit to such a frightening visitation of grace. I should see myself through the compassionate Eye of God, which both understands my failure and cowardice and invites me to hope. But certain terrors of the past haunt me still; and, as the Benedictine and innumerable others have said, "You're awfully hard on yourself." I hear the gentle invitation and gingerly toe the water, hoping its warmer than the ice floes indicate. If Saint Francis could embrace the leper, I should be able to embrace Penance.

Beyond that, I hope the Presence of God in me might make a difference. That will come about not because I am such a fine fellow but because I belong to his beloved Church.

One time in Louisiana, I went walking through the neighborhood on a chore of some kind. As I wandered I crossed paths with the same woman twice. Upon our second meeting she said, "I am twice-blessed!" I don't think she was a member of my congregation but she knew I was a priest. That is how our sacraments work. All the baptized, priests and laity alike, are called to make the world a holier, better place for our being here. By our kindness, courage, generosity and divine wisdom the universe is filled with the Spirit of God -- therefore I will hope.