To follow Jesus is to commit ourselves to justice. This requires inward change more often than we would like and can be a complicated journey. May this prayer help us live the way of Jesus more authentically in our own hearts.
Pray
Jesus, I sometimes resist when my perspective is challenged, when others cry “injustice” over something I cannot see. Make my heart humble and teachable to witness the experience of others so that I can best discern where the pursuit of justice leads. Amen.
Act
Identify one thing that has been labeled a “justice issue” but makes you feel uncomfortable. Find at least one thoughtful, clear-headed voice who can share an opposing perspective with you. Resolve to read or listen to that person’s words with an open mind.
Today’s Pause+Pray was written by Shannon K. Evans.
Today’s reading is from the Old Testament in the book of Leviticus, and it’sabout leprosy. Anyone who had leprosy was required to shout, “Unclean, unclean!” This reminded me of the pandemic a couple of years ago when people got hyped up if someone contracted the disease, “Covid, Covid!” It is not terminal.
I’m going to give you some philosophical continuing credit. What is a primary virtue? The primary virtue is justice. Why justice? Because justice is the virtue that orders all the other virtues to their necessary and proper end which is Almighty God. So, when we are talking about the budget and how we have billions and billions of dollars to allocate, we are talking about real money. “We’ll allocate this much here and this much there.” Now think about justice. I, Stump, and many others in the parish are combat veterans. We don’t get free medical care, and I even retired from the Army. Un-uh Un-uh Un-uh. If I tried to get a benefit, I’d have to prove it was connected to my Army service. It’s easier to go before the Supreme Court than it is to get the VA to recognize a disability due to military service. So, we don’t give justice to our military service members, but we are giving away billions and billions of dollars to people who enter the United States illegally. But those of us who are citizens not so much.
One thing in the spiritual life that most of us don’t think about is that we are called to be like God in all things. That sounds reasonable, doesn’t it? But that would be tough because God is perfection of all attributes and virtues. That would be kind of difficult for us to attain. But we try. There is one aspect of our lives which is very important for us to concentrate on and that is our memory. Now I don’t mean you have to remember every password on every device you own. The memory of a spiritual person needs to be both good and bad. “Okay Father, explain that.” I’m glad you asked. Your memory has to be bad like God’s memory is bad. “How is God’s memory bad?” Well, He says in the Old Testament, “I will put your sins behind you. Your sins are remembered no more” (Ezekiel 18:22). So, God forgives and forgets. We are called to forget our sins that have been forgiven and to let them go. And, to not remember the sins that others may or may not have committed against us just like God does.
We also need a perfect memory so that we can remember the love and mercy God has shown us by forgiving our sins, giving us the gift of His very Self in the Sacraments, and the promise of eternal life. We are called to show that same mercy and love to His people. A perfect memory manifests itself in the Prayers of Thanksgiving. Be grateful for what you have. My theme for Lent this year is, “Someday, tomorrow will begin without us.” The other morning, I was hearing first confessions from children at Saint Luke’s. They are so young, so I don’t make them spend a lot of time in the confessional. A lot of them said that they had hurt their parents, brothers, and sisters. I told them, “Remember, your time with them is so small. Cherish the time you have with them, because you will miss that time when they are gone. They may be difficult at times, and if you had a brother like mine, you would understand that. If you had a brother like me, you would also understand. But cherish them as God cherishes us.”
God promises to be with us as long as we don’t throw Him out of our souls through mortal sins or repeated venial sins. We have our Lord’s protection, and we get pretty upset if something happens to us that we didn’t expect, and it ruins our plans. Saint Teresa of Avila said to our Lord, “If this is how You treat Your friends, no wonder why You have so few of them!” But we will never know how much evil God has protected us from for ourselves, our families, and our loved ones. We will never know until we see Him face-to-face when all things will be made present and known. We do not know but God does. Just think of the things you have been protected from, and you haven’t died yet, have you? A lot of my classmates did not reach my age nor did my twin brother. I always thought I’d be the first to go because I’ve been to some bad places. To my own credit, it seemed like a good idea at the time. We do not know the threats God has protected us from, how much love He has given us, and the gifts He has given us as a result of our prayers. Perhaps they were not the ones we asked for but were better ones. This is how we must work on our memory. The most important part of a bad memory is forgetting oneself for the love of God. We must forget ourselves. Our Lord said, “Leave everything behind and come follow Me.” The most important thing in spiritual life is memory.
How will you apply this message to your life __________________________________________
You can read all of Father Fitzgibbons’ sermons by going to annunciationcatholicalbemarle.com and clicking on “Blog” then “Categories” then “Sermon Notes.” On a cell phone: click on “Blog” and then “Menu.” Scroll to the bottom and click on “Categories.” Sermon Notes are also available on the Church’s Facebook page at ola.catholic.church. Click on “Groups” and then “Sermon Notes.”
The Church’s charity for the poor is a “part of her constant tradition.” Fr. Mike unpacks how the poor are the “true treasure of the Church.” He emphasizes that when we give to the poor what they need, we satisfy the requirements of justice. He also reiterates the importance of mercy and showing mercy to others. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 2443-2449.
Peace is not simply an absence of war. Fr. Mike breaks down the Catechism’s teachings about peace as the “work of justice and the effect of charity.” We learn that to cultivate true peace, we must do more than avoid anger, hatred, and harm to our neighbor; we must actively work toward becoming agents of peace. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 2302-2306.
A virtuous person is someone who consistently chooses the good. Fr. Mike unpacks the four human or cardinal virtues that are essential in helping us become more like Jesus: prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance. We learn that these four virtues make possible “ease, self-mastery, and joy in leading a morally good life.” Today’s Catechism readings are paragraphs 1803-1811.
We will not appreciate Jesus’ loyalty to the Law and the Prophets if we do not accept his deeper understanding of freedom. I’m afraid that the cry of the French Revolution, “Liberty, equality, and fraternity,” has formed us much more than the Jesus Revolution. His cry might instead be “Identity, justice, and community.” Think about the difference. We also tend to think of freedom as freedom of movement and the liberty to choose between options. This is surely a good and important freedom. There is no indication that the great spiritual teachers, Jesus included, see it as essential, however. They seem to recognize that the world of preferences and possibilities does not of itself lead to wisdom, truth, or even depth of experience. In fact, in the spiritual life, the rule seems to be that less is more. There is almost no correlation between the number of options and the amount of truth or goodness that one attains.
The prophet Isaiah wrote at a time when violence and war were the order of the day. The people of Israel had been conquered by the Assyrians and would later be taken into exile. And yet Isaiah could speak of a hope rooted in the Lord’s call for justice and for peace. Our own world seems to be increasingly violent. We might think that Isaiah’s vision is further away than ever before. The Internet brings violence from the far corners of the world into our lives, but we also know that there is violence in our cities, our neighborhoods, and even at times in our own homes. But we also hear of hopeful and heroic actions, often by a few individuals standing in the face of darkness and offering what light they have.
The journey through Advent brings us to the Christmas celebration of God’s intimate presence in human existence. What we discover is that in our waiting for Christmas, God is with us all the way along the journey. In ancient times, people traveled together for safety and support. Often they needed to set aside differences and overcome a fear of unknown traveling companions because the world outside their caravans held too many threats to travel alone. We too find that the more we try to set ourselves apart from others, the more we are threatened by a world “out there.”
Isaiah’s words about swords and plowshares naturally bring to mind war, weapons, and global strife. We might think there’s nothing we can do about such sweeping issues. But think about the ways in which you use words as weapons every day. How might you transform them to words of tolerance, compassion, and love? If we are to be a sign of God to all peoples, how can we behave toward people of other races, religions, or lifestyles in such a way that they will be attracted to the Word of life that motivates us?
The life of Christ is the life of all life––the peace of creation, the justice of humanity and the unity of humankind. That is why the Franciscan path of prayer must ultimately lead to peace because it leads to the compassionate love of the crucified Christ. Peace is the fruit of love. Francis became a person of peace because he became a person of love—a love shown in his body and in his willingness to spend himself for others.
