Memorial of Saint Martin de Porres, Religious

 Lectionary: 669

The gifts and the call of God are irrevocable.
Just as you once disobeyed God
but have now received mercy
because of their disobedience,
so they have now disobeyed in order that,
by virtue of the mercy shown to you,
they too may now receive mercy.
For God delivered all to disobedience,
that he might have mercy upon all.

Saint Paul addresses the relationship of Christians and Jews in his Letter to the Roman, but sends sparks of divine teaching in every direction. Hearing "The gifts and the call of God are irrevocable." calls to mind the first visit of Pope Saint John Paul II to the United States. He had temporarily shut the canonical door for priests intending to leave the ministry, but it remained a huge controversy as he arrived in this country. 

In a homily of October 4, 1979, in Philadelphia, in a Mass specifically for priests, he said, 

Priesthood is forever—tu es sacerdos in aeternum—we do not return the gift once given. It cannot be that God who gave the impulse to say "yes" now wishes to hear "no".

 The unfortunate procession would continue but he slowed the process considerably. 

I read recently that there are an increasing number of Catholics throughout the world, and that sounds encouraging. But we still meet and hear of "recovering Catholics" and "former Catholics." They should be reminded that Baptism is forever; we do not return the gift once given. 

The Bible is a chronicle of an intense covenant of mutual love of the Lord and his people. It's seventy-two books recall their mutual agreements, the infidelity of the Elect, and God's faithful remembering. That union is the original covenant upon which all marriages are modeled despite the persistent infidelity of those God chose. We understand the covenant as irrevocable and demanding. The decision is existential; that is, it's a choice of life and death. This is not a decision about Wheaties or Cheerios; gasoline, diesel, or electric. It is very serious. 

We understand also that the decision involves many generations. God chose Abraham and his descendants, a line which continues until the end of time, and involves as many people as there are stars in sky. Every book of the Bible tells of God's jealous demand that his people must keep his commands and ordinances. Mere lip service is hypocritical treason and will be severely punished. In fact, sins against God's law will be more severely punished than the wrongdoing of people who might commit the same act but never knew the Lord.

We understand that our covenant with God is irrevocable, demanding, and delightful. If the world says only a fool would despise an inheritance of a billion dollars; we know a fool as one who walks away from our Communion with God. He  promises more than we can imagine or expect. In my experience, faithful priests and religious, husbands and wives insist that they have received far more than they gave, and far more than they deserved. After fifty years of priesthood and fifty-nine years in religious life, I say the same.

The prophet Joel predicted, 

Your sons and daughters will prophesy,

your old men will dream dreams,

your young men will see visions.

As a young man I had a vision; as an old man, I live the dream.