“Showing Compassion is Not Always Compassionate“
Father Peter Fitzgibbons
October 24 – 25, 2020
Scripture: Matthew 22: 34-40
Our first parents walked with God and talked with God. They were given one rule: don’t eat the apple. If you love Me, don’t eat the apple. What did they do? They ate the apple! So here we are. Our Lord says, if you love me, keep My Commandments. Realizing our failed human condition, He tells us exactly how we are to love Him. He has given us the law. The purpose of the law is to love God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and to love your neighbor as yourself. The law and the commandments spell out how to do it. We think love is an emotion, and we confuse love with liking. There’s a big difference. We are called to love as Christ loved. We are to keep the Commandments for those are acts of love. The commands of the Church are even more specific, because everyone tries to be a Canon lawyer. God made a rock so big He can’t move it. Ask the Sheriff. When they turn on the blue lights, everyone becomes a lawyer. “What do you mean…I have my rights!” No. The law is quite specific. This is how you love. In 2,000 years of Church history, there is not a situation that the Church hasn’t covered. If you have committed a sin that I haven’t heard, I’ll pay you for the privilege to hear it. You are not that original…I work with paratroopers. Trust me…you are not that original.
Our Lord teaches us how to love, and He gives us specifics about how to love. Sometimes, it is not the most pleasant thing for us to do. People often come to me and ask about what the Church teaches. First, the Church is not an “it”. The Church is a “Who” …it is the body of Christ. It is not a “What.” In the Book of Acts, He asked Saul, “Why are you persecuting Me?” Go back to the Gospels. Jesus said, “He who hears you hears Me.” So, the Church is not an “it” or an institution. The Church is Christ’s teachings handed down through the ages. When people ask me about a Church teaching, I give it to them and offer to give them the citation. “But I want to do this.” I know you want to do that. But, no. “But, it’s the more loving thing to do.” No, it’s not. You know more about love than Christ? Sometimes, it’s very hard. We want what we want when we want it, because our minds are affected by sin. Our original sin does that to us. Christ spells out the most loving thing to do. The most loving thing to do is not cosigning someone’s codependent behavior. “Oh, we should give free needles to drug addicts.” No, we should put them in rehab. “We should buy booze for alcoholics.” No, they kill people – about 50,000 highway deaths a year at least. “We should perform gay marriage.” No. Same sex attraction is a mental illness that affects two percent of the population. Their abuse of alcohol, drugs and suicidal behavior is off the charts. It’s triple or quadruple the number of so-called “ordinary” people. Doing the compassionate thing is not always compassionate. In fact, it’s the exact opposite. I see people in the Emergency Room, and they tell the doctor, “Oh, Doc, my back hurts…I need a script…I need some OxyContin.” No. Take some aspirin. Have a good day. You’re not hurt. “Oh, he’s hurting…he’s crying.” No. He needs to suck it up.
Jesus tells us the most specific and most loving thing to do. He not only tells us in precise detail, He also lived it. If we love God, we should do as He did. Imitate the saints and love God as they did. Find a patron saint, by baptism, by confession, or by a particular situation. For cancer situations, Saint Peregrine Laziosi is a good one to turn to. Find out what the saints did and imitate them. Do what they did and you will get what they got.
How will you apply this message to your life? Will you stop cosigning the codependent behavior of others? Will you imitate the saints by loving God as they did?