From the Catholic Liturgy for the 3rd
Sunday of Ordinary Time, Jan. 21, 2018. Gospel – Mark 1:14-20. Theme: The Most Basic
Truth About Life.
All of our readings today carry a common message: Never forget what life is really all about.
Never forget who placed you here. Never forget to whom you shall return
One week ago, on Sat., Jan. 13, the people of Hawaii were informed
that a ballistic missile had been launched at them. They were told to seek
shelter. For a long frightening 30
minutes they did not know that this was a mistake. I found the reports by the Catholic media out
of Hawaii to be eye-opening. Those who could reach shelter did so. But most
could not.
Those who could not gathered with their children, led them
in the Act of Contrition and then began to pray the rosary. Most were not
people who usually prayed this way very often, but when push comes to shove, they knew to whom they should go. They
knew what the most basic and important act of life is to prepare to go to God
from whom they came and enter eternity.
That evening and non-stop throughout the night, priests tell
us that confession lines were out the door and around the block. All the next day, which was a Sunday, the parishes
reported churches packed to standing room only. Most were not people who usually went to confession of attended Mass
often, but when push comes to shove, they knew to whom they should go. They
knew what the most basic and important act of life is to prepare to go to God
from whom they came and enter eternity.
On that morning, a group of deacons and men studying for the
diaconate, were at Mass and without their cell phones. They were surprised by
the Bishop running into their gathering wearing only t-shirt and shorts! He
informed them about the alert and then gave them General Absolution. There was
no time for the bishop to dress or worry about formality, because he knew what the most basic and important act of life is, so he
rushed over to the chapel to help those people prepare to go to God from whom
they came and enter eternity.
It’s too bad that it takes a shock to wake us up, but we are
all so surrounded with lies and false promises from our culture that we forget,
we get distracted from, this basic fundamental truth. Commercials on TV, celebrity
chatter shows, movies we watch, the music we hear…none of these promote or
support the basic truth of human life. If we were to put the media’s message
into the Bible-language we hear in today’s Gospel, it might sound like this: “This is the time to fulfill your own desires.
The Kingdom of Self is at hand. No need to change; believe whatever you think
is true for you, and live life pleasing yourself.”
ostBut the recent experience of our Hawaiian brothers and
sisters shows that, while this false worldly message can distract us, it
doesn’t have to own us. When they received that false alarm, they didn’t turn
to the media culture to obtain forgiveness. No! They fell to their knees in prayer. They
headed for their parish churches. They stampeded into the confessional. They had come to know by their experience
that the most basic and important act of human life is to always be ready to go
to God from whom we came, and to enter eternity in peace, prepared to go.
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