Monday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time

 Lectionary: 371

And though the LORD warned Israel and Judah by every prophet and seer, “Give up your evil ways and keep my commandments and statutes, in accordance with the entire law which I enjoined on your fathers and which I sent you by my servants the prophets,” they did not listen, but were as stiff-necked as their fathers, who had not believed in the LORD, their God.

Saint Francis, asked to name his disciples, said, "We are penitents from Assisi." In the thirteenth century, Italians still took penance seriously. Those who had sinned but wanted to return to the practice of the faith were assigned a remote place in the church where they could observe the Mass. They dressed in penitential garb, fasted, and waited to be readmitted to the sacraments. After a period of years, their petition might be accepted, provided the priests and church were convinced of their repentance. 

Francis's "penitents from Assisi" were a joyful lot; they felt assured of God's mercy despite their public acknowledgement of guilt. People were astonished at the greeting, "Pace bene!" (Peace and Good!) Hearing their cry and realizing who they were and what they represented, millions of people in Italy and Europe returned to the practice of their Catholic faith. 

To be Christian and to belong to God in the biblical sense is to admit that we have sinned. That admission is more than a vague yeah, sure. Penitents can name their sins clearly and particularly. Members of Alcoholics Anonymous, though they might not use the word sin in their enthusiastic outreach, can tell you the time, place, and circumstances of their last drink. Although their drinking was senseless and irresponsible; it was precious to them and, ironically, they treasure the memory. That dark moment is enlightened by God's mercy.

We remember our sins because we want to remember everything including the disgrace and the shame, plus the blessing and the Great Work of God. We have seen wonderful things happen within our own hearts. And we know the work is not done! 

We all have a ways to go before we have surrendered our evil ways and submitted to the commandments and statutes of God's way. I think of the attitudes of superiority which perpetuates our microaggressions. They are borne of our ethnicity, caste, or age. Baby Boomers, once humiliated because we had no memory of World War II with its sacrifices and suffering, now remind our juniors that they know nothing of the great music of the sixties, of Woodstock, and the summer of 68. 

But those ridiculous attitudes pale before our assumptions that it's better to be American; that our freedom is granted to us by the muzzle of a gun and the strength of our military. Many like me deny any responsibility for the genocide of Native Americans, the waste of the Earth's environment, and the continuing exploitation that accompanies whiteness. The list goes on and on. We take pride in American exceptionalism even as it turns rancid in the nostrils of the world. 

To be true American Christians, we must practice penance intentionally and intensely. The designation otherwise, is covered with shame. It is like the king with no clothes, stupidly obtuse and widely mocked. 

We practice penance with gratitude; it is a great privilege. God in his mercy has shown us our sins; and we, blessed by many unearned gifts of the Holy Spirit, have wisely taken up the narrow way that opens before us. We forget nothing; we anticipate great blessings and increasing joy as we follow the Lord to Calvary.