truth word in mixed vintage metal type printing blocks over grunge wood
Even in a relativistic culture we like to think categorically about a lot of things. Is a person good or bad? Is an idea liberal or conservative? Are we a divided nation or a united one?
Truth be told, we are all a mixed bag, individually and collectively. God alone is wholly good. Even in the midst of our struggles and flaws there still lurks something good, something true and beautiful. There are also many times when we must frankly admit that some things are true and some are false, some are right and some are wrong.
The genius of Catholicism, often not appreciated by our opponents, is that careful distinctions are a hallmark of our Sacred Tradition and teachings. We insist that there are absolute and immutable truths, but we also hold that some teachings are not absolute and admit of distinctions or need to be balanced by other truths. For example, Jesus said that He came to give us peace (Jn 14:27), but He also said, “I have not come to bring peace, but a sword” (Mat 10:36). Thus, context and distinctions are often important, but they are in service of an absolute truth. In this case, the absolute truth is that no real or lasting peace can exist apart from the Truth, which is Jesus Christ, for He says, “I am the Truth” (Jn 14:6).
As we navigate an increasingly tense and divided world, our insistence on absolute truths as well as distinctions becomes more important. When are discussions fruitful and when are they not? What can we tolerate and what must we refuse to tolerate? What is the distinction between acceptance and approval?
The questions could go on, but the point is that we must be very thoughtful in such matters. Knee-jerk reactions must give way to reflection and careful consideration.
The following video does a good job of reminding us of the complexity of division and unity.
As a boy, I remember wondering why so many people liked to rush to Church to get ashes smudged on their foreheads. Frankly, I had some revulsion at the idea and would secretly rub them off when no one was looking. Today, though I’ll admit I still don’t like it too much, I behave myself and don’t rub them off!
I pray that this doesn’t seem impious, but I’m still amazed by how many people pack into the church to get ashes. Sadly, some don’t seem to want Holy Communion nearly as much. In fact, in some of the parishes where I served in the past, a significant number walked out the door immediately after receiving ashes, not even staying long enough for Communion.
Of course most people who come to Mass on Ash Wednesday are faithful and have their priorities straight, but it still interests me how large the numbers are for something that seems to me to be so unappealing and also challenging.
Indeed, the sign of ashes is quite challenging if we understand what it really means.
Ashes signify humility – Job said, “You [Oh Lord] asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.’ My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore, I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:3-6).
Notice that Job does not merely repent in a general sense. Rather, having encountered God, he realizes that God is God, and that he, Job, is a creature, mere dust and ashes in the presence of God, who is being itself, who is all in all. Yes, Job is a son in the presence of a father; he is not God’s equal that he might question Him or put Him on trial.
Hence in this case the ashes represent not only repentance, but humility as well. The Church’s liturgy echoes this theme of humility in quoting Gen 3:19 as the ashes are placed on the individual: “Remember, you are dust and unto dust you shall return.”
Ashes are a reminder of death and a call to wisdom – After Adam sinned, God told him, By the sweat of your brow you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return (Gen 3:19).
As he imposes the ashes, the priest usually recites some form of this passage. Memorable though it is, consider an even blunter form: “You are going to die.”
This is a salient and sobering reminder that we often get worked up and anxious about passing things, while at the same time being unmindful of the certain and most important thing, for which we must be ready. We tend to maximize the minimum and minimize the maximum. Sadly, like the man in one of the Lord’s parables, we can amass worldly things and forget the final things. To him the Lord said, “You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?” So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God (Luke 12:21-22).
Thus, to consider our final end is wise; to fail to do so is foolishness defined.
Ashes are a sacramental that points to the Sacrament – The Old Testament declared, You shall gather up the ashes of the heifer and put them in a ceremonially clean place outside the camp. They shall be kept by the Israelite community for use in the water of cleansing; it is for purification from sin … For the unclean person, put some ashes from the burned purification offering into a jar and pour fresh water over them. Then a man who is ceremonially clean is to take some hyssop, dip it in the water and sprinkle the tent and all the furnishings and the people who were there (Numbers 19:9, 17).
This text shows ashes obtained from a burned sin offering and mixed with sprinkled water as a cleansing ritual. In the Old Testament, this ritual could not actually take away sin (cf Heb 9:9-13) but it did provide for ritual purity. It also symbolized repentance and a desire to be free from sin.
In the same way, ashes on Ash Wednesday (mixed with holy water) cannot take away sin. They are a sacramental, not a sacrament.
To receive ashes on Ash Wednesday and then not go to confession during Lent is really to miss the point. If one really desires to repent and be cleansed from and free of sin, then from the sacramental of ashes one goes to the Sacrament of Confession. Otherwise the ritual of Ash Wednesday is pointless.
Ashes are a sign of a true change – When the news [of Nineveh’s possible destruction in forty days] reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust (Jonah 3:6).
Repentance is symbolized in this passage as well, but the symbol alone is not enough; actual repentance is required. The king does not just “get ashes”; he issues a decree calling for fasting, prayer, and true reform: Do not let any man or beast, herd or flock, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink. But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish (Jonah 3:7-9).
Hence another option for the priest to say as he places the ashes is, “Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel.”
It is not enough to get a sooty forehead. True repentance is called for, an actual intent to change. Otherwise the ashes are a false sign.
Ashes are a summons to faith and a new mind – Jesus said, Woe to you, Korazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes (Matt 11:21).
Jesus rebukes ancient towns for their lack of faith in what He said. It is good to recall that the Greek word translated here as “repented” is μετενόησαν (metenoesan), which more literally means “to come to a new mind” or “to come to a new way of thinking.”
The fact is, there are many ways that we think about things that are more of the world than of God. Our ongoing challenge is to come to a new mind and to think more as God thinks. This is only possible by His grace, working through Scripture and Church teaching.
It is significant that the ashes are smeared on the forehead or sprinkled on the head. We are called to a faith that transforms our mind. We are called to be transformed by the renewal of our minds (Romans 12:2).
Hence another option for the priest is to say, “Repent and believe the Good News” as he imposes the ashes.
So, how real are your ashes? Do you intend the things described above as you go forth? Or is it just a ritual, something you do because it’s “sorta neat”? Pray and reflect on the deeper meaning of the ashes.
I have said the Traditional Latin Mass for all of my many years of priesthood. Back in the late 1980s, only a few priests were “permitted” to do so and there were few resources available to learn it. About the only visual help was the Fulton Sheen film from the 1940s describing the Mass. So, I trained under a few older priests during my seminary years. I moved from being part of the schola in the choir loft, to serving as sub-deacon, then deacon, and finally as priest-celebrant. Solemn High Mass was my specialty; I only learned the low Mass later. Most of us who celebrate the traditional Latin Mass exhibit great care in observing the rubrics and norms and have great esteem for its beauty.
During my training, I asked the older priests why they and their generation got rid of such a beautiful form of the Mass. They often replied that though they came to lament its loss later, at the time it was not always celebrated so beautifully; they spoke of hurried masses, cursory gestures, and mumbled Latin. They indicated that the Solemn High Mass (the form with a priest, a deacon, a sub-deacon, and a bevy of acolytes) was quite rare in Washington, D.C. Even the Missa Cantata (in which some of the parts are sung by the celebrant, but without the deacon and sub-deacon) was limited to one Mass, and many places didn’t even have that. Homilies at weekday Masses were rare and even a good number of Sunday Masses had minimal preaching.
With all the horrifying abuses associated with Masses after the liturgical changes, these problems may seem mild, but in any case, things were not as ideal as I had imagined—at least that was picture these older priests painted for me.
I recently came across a letter from the 1920s in our parish archive that confirms this generally perfunctory quality. It is a lament on this situation from Archbishop Michael J. Curley of Baltimore and is directed to his priests.
At that time, the Archdiocese of Washington was still part of the Archdiocese of Baltimore. Thus, the Archdiocese of Baltimore covered a very large area, stretching from the Delaware border in the east, through Washington, all the way to the western panhandle of Maryland. It contained large city parishes from Baltimore and Washington, a growing number of suburban parishes, and numerous small ones from the large expanses of rural territory.
Regarding the city parishes, remember that the immigrant Church of that period was expanding rapidly and vast numbers of newly immigrated Catholics from all over Europe were filling the pews. One of the needs was thus to schedule numerous Masses to accommodate the numbers. In addition, in those days all Masses had to be finished before noon. All of this led to a hurried morning schedule in which some of the liturgical principles suffered as a result.
And now we proceed to the letter itself. It is hard to imagine a bishop of our times being so informal and blunt, yet those were days in which many bishops and local pastors were known for their large, colorful personalities. Enjoy some excerpts of this colorfully blunt letter, which focused on encouraging priests to be more liturgically minded. I include some brief remarks of my own in red text.
July 9, 1929
Reverend and Dear Father,
Confusion worse confounded has arisen during the past few years in the matter of our Sunday services. An inter-parochial competitive system has ended in chaos and not a little distant disedification. We must now return to sane normal conditions. Hence the following mandatory regulations will be effective Sunday, October 6.
The High Mass (Solemn or Missa Cantata) must be the last of the parish masses and may not be an hour later than eleven. Every church in Baltimore, Washington, and Cumberland is expected to have a High Mass. The same is expected of all parishes outside the above cities where a choir is possible. The choir does not have to be an adult choir. It may be composed of school children. In country parishes where heretofore there has been no High Mass, I desire the pastors to work towards a High Mass. The Missa parochialis must be kept in its honorable place. … Let the well-prepared sermon be short and practical; let the music be strictly liturgical and let the liturgy be carried out with dignity and correctly.
We see that in certain areas, the low Mass (recited and whispered) had come to be the only type celebrated. High Mass, with the priest and choir singing significant portions, was becoming too rare. This afforded less possibility for the faithful to interact with the Liturgy. Further, it excluded a vast repertoire of chant, polyphony, and classical music from the Mass. In response, the Archbishop insisted that at least one parish Mass should open this treasure to God’s people.
The epistle and gospel should be read at all the masses. … A short discourse (of even five-minutes duration) should be given at each mass. The work of instruction should be supplemented by the recommendation of pamphlets as reading matter. No parish church should be without a pamphlet rack.
A significant problem in that era was that the readings were proclaimed in Latin by the priest at the altar. Because few if any of the laity knew Latin, the proclamation of the Word mostly fell on deaf ears. A common solution was that the priest would go to the pulpit and repeat the readings in the vernacular, but this lengthened the Mass. Some priests evidently skipped this altogether and merely continued on with the Mass. Some even skipped a sermon of any sort at certain masses. The Archbishop was surely not pleased and insisted that teaching the faith was an essential purpose of any liturgy.
Some of our younger parish clergy read their sermons. This should not be done except for some very special reason. The priest who is not capable of preparing and delivering a brief, clear instruction on Catholic teaching to his people is not fit to be in parish work. The people as a rule do not want to listen to a sermon reader. The reader is usually a poor one and his matter many times is poorer. We do not expect every priest to be a Lacordaire or a Bossuet. We do expect every priest however to be a teacher of God’s word, an intelligent and intelligible one. We have heard splendid eloquence on the subject of card parties, bazaars, church support, etc. and then mental confusion in many cases when the time came for the sermon. Our work as preachers of the gospel of Jesus Christ is of infinite importance. It ought to be done with prayerful preparation. The sermon should be delivered in such a manner that our people can hear, understand, and take away with them a better knowledge of their faith and at the same time feel moved to live that faith and more practical way. If the priests of a parish wish to hold her people’s loyalty to their parish church, they cannot do it by competition in the matter of late hours for masses, unbecoming a hurry in the celebration of divine mysteries, or curtailment of devotional church practices.
Tough, but well said.
In some parishes of the cities there is no evening service. The reason given is that the people will not come. If the pastor will only give the people a chance to come, they will come in sufficient numbers to Rosary and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. They will come gladly to hear a course of sermons during Advent, Lent, novenas, etc. They will not come to hear the rosary and litany recited in a marathon style. They leave their parish church and go to one where there is devotion in the sanctuary.
We have completed our building program. The brick-and-mortar work is almost over. Let us now apply ourselves to the more important work of gathering our people around the sanctuary in order that we may build Christ our Blessed Lord into their hearts and lives. We have, thank God, many parishes where liturgical functions are carried out with inspiring dignity, order, correctness, and consequent impressiveness. … But where there is a tendency to starve the people spiritually, the priest soon realizes a reaction that, to say the least, is neither healthy nor pleasant.
Beautifully said.
Let us then in God’s name begin with enthusiasm a new era of order in matters liturgical October 6th.
Sincerely, + Michael Curley Archbishop of Baltimore
I hope this provides you with a little picture of liturgy and parish life form the late 1920s. The problems of that time are nothing compared with the disorder often evident from the 1970s through today, but surely the human condition will always require that we battle the perfunctory observance of the sacred liturgy.
This video clip from the beginning of the movie True Confessions shows a beautiful depiction of the Traditional Latin Mass. I first saw it in 1981 and was amazed at the beauty of the Mass. I set about learning this form of the Mass well before it was more widely allowed. Although Solemn High Mass was not unknown in larger city parishes, its celebration complete with all the details was rarer than I thought. Low mass, recited and whispered, was more the norm. This situation led to Archbishop Curley’s request that at least one high Mass be sung in every parish each Sunday. Amen, Archbishop!
At Saturday’s daily Mass (Saturday of the 7th Week of the Year) we read a beautiful reflection on the dignity and glory of the human person. It is deserving of deep meditation. This is especially true today, when some want to reduce humans to nothing more than “smart apes.”
Ponder with me this passage from the Book of Sirach. The full text can be found here: Sirach 17:1-15. Let’s consider the text in six parts. The Scripture text is shown in bold italics, while my commentary presented in plain text.
I Our Regal Place –God from the earth created man, and in his own image he made him. He makes man return to earth again, and endows him with a strength of his own. Limited days of life he gives him, with power over all things else on earth. He puts the fear of him in all flesh, and gives him rule over beasts and birds.
Here we ponder several truths about ourselves. The first is that our dignity is to unite two orders of God’s creation, the physical and the spiritual. We are made “from the earth”; this refers to our bodies. Yet we are made in God’s image; this refers to our spiritual nature, because God is pure spirit. In this union of two orders of creation is a unique glory. For sentient, non-human creatures as well as inanimate things, there is only a share in the physical world. For angels and even the members of the Trinity as God, there is only pure spirit. In each human being, however, both the physical and the spiritual are united in one person.
A second truth about ourselves is that we are at the pinnacle of the physical world. Though lowlier than the angels, we are above the animals and “all things else” on the earth. As Gods says in the Book of Genesis, we are to be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground (Gen 1:28). The text from Sirach speaks of God putting a fear of us in all other living creatures. It is fascinating that no animal on earth actively hunts us. Occasionally, out of fear or when caged, an animal will lash out; in instances of extreme hunger, a large animal may even kill a human being; but no animal is above us on the food chain and we have no natural predator from among them. We are peerless among them and they would rather avoid us.
A third truth is that we are called to humility. Though we are exalted on the earth and of regal stature, we must not forget that God has made us from the earth and has limited the number of our days. We are stewards here, not owners. Physically, we will die; spiritually, we will give an account to God
II Our Reflective Power – He created for them counsel, and a tongue and eyes and ears, and an inventive heart, and filled them with the discipline of understanding. He created in them knowledge of the spirit; With wisdom he fills their heart; … He has set before them knowledge, a law of life as their inheritance;
Here we see described many of the faculties of our rational soul that distinguish us from the animals. We can reflect, take counsel, and come to understanding and knowledge. We can comprehend meaning, intuit laws and order, and discern purposes. This reflective and rational power is a glory of the human person and is not shared by the animals.
Physically, humans have a lot in common with other mammals, but the similarities end there. Beyond the physical, the differences are immense; they are not merely differences in degree, but in kind. The human person in endowed with faculties that animals— even the highest primates—do not possess at all.
To those who say that humans are just “smart apes,” or that we are just a little ahead of them in evolution, I have some questions. They are rooted in the premise that effects point to causes, that you can know something by its fruits. If we are no different than the other mammals around us,
Where are their cities?
Where are their complex social interactions?
Where are their art museums, libraries, schools, and other repositories of accumulated learning?
Where are their legislatures, in which policy and matters of justice are debated?
Where is their moral code?
Where are their courts, in which they adjudicate their moral code, assess responsibility, and mete out punishment?
Where are their high-level languages, through which they can express both practical and abstract reasoning and can describe both physical and metaphysical concepts (e.g. justice, beauty, mercy)?
Where are their mathematical systems, in which they can enumerate, compare, express proportions and relationships, or predict outcomes?
Where is their progress, both technological and intellectual?
Why is it that after ten thousand years or more, chimpanzees still swing from the trees as they always have, while we humans have emerged from the forests and even been to the moon and back?
My questions could go on and on, but let these serve to demonstrate that the gulf between us and the animals is vast. We are separated from them by far more than degree. Indeed, animals are not even “in our league.” Humans possess faculties that animals do not. If they do possess them, then where is the evidence?
Our rational intellect and our capacity to engage the metaphysical both point to the gift of our soul. Scripture says of us that we are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). We are possessed of intellect and will. This is not said of the animals, nor is it said of them what is said of Adam (and us): that God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living soul. (Gen 2:7). Yes, the very breath of God entered the human person.
III Our Righteous Perception –Good and evil he shows them. He put the fear of himself upon their hearts … He says to them, “Avoid all evil”; each of them he gives precepts about his fellow men.
God has written His name and His law upon our hearts. Thus says the Lord, I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people (Jer 31:33). God’s voice also echoes in our conscience. But your eyes shall see your Teacher, and your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left (Is 30:20-21).
Every human person has the Law of God written in his heart and God’s voice echoing in his conscience. Sadly, many seek to suppress the fundamental truth found there, through rationalization and other forms of denial. Yet still the voice is there. As this text from Sirach teaches, God has put in all of us a sense of good and evil. He has put a reverent fear of Himself in us. We know His precepts innately. This is our glory. That is why it is so awful when any person (and all people were made to know the truth) runs from the truth to lies and darkness.
IV Our Rational Praise –And [God] shows them his mighty works, That they might glory in the wonder of his deeds and praise his holy name. His majestic glory their eyes beheld, his glorious voice their ears heard.
Animals praise God implicitly through their very existence, by being what they were made to be. The human person, however, can offer to God conscious, chosen, and rational praise. St. Paul bids us, I beseech you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service (Rom 12:1). The Greek word translated here as “reasonable” is λογικὴν (logiken), from which we get the word logic.
We worship God not merely in emotional ways, but also in ways that are sensible, reasonable, fitting, and edifying. Here, too, is our glory: to give not merely implicit worship—as do the animals by their existence—but fitting and freely chosen worship.
V Our Relational Potential –An everlasting covenant he has made with them, his justice and his judgments he has revealed to them.
Unlike the animals, man is summoned to a covenantal relationship, to a marriage with God. The Church is the Bride of Christ, and we, as members of the same, are espoused to God. Man has capax Dei, the capacity and potential to be in a free and conscious relationship with God.
The text further relates this relationship to God’s justice, for to be made righteous is to be in a right relationship with God the Father through the blood of His Son.
Here, too, is our dignity, because we must freely consent to this covenant. If we die saying yes, the covenant will be everlasting.
VI Our Responsible Position –Their ways are ever known to him; they cannot be hidden from his eyes. Over every nation he places a ruler, but God’s own portion is Israel. All their actions are clear as the sun to him, his eyes are ever upon their ways.
The passage ends on a teaching that points both to our dignity and to the responsibility we carry due to that dignity. Because we are free and blessed with all these gifts, we will also one day have to account to God for our use of these gifts. Everyone to whom much has been given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom much has been entrusted, will be demanded the more (Luke 12:48).
We should be sober, trusting in God’s mercy but not failing to seek it, and make good use of what he has entrusted to us. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account (Heb 4:13).
Fellow human beings, know your glory and dignity as God made you. Rejoice in the splendor and singular grace God has bestowed upon you.
O Lord, when I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of him,
and the son of man that you care for him?
Yet you have made him but a little lower than angels
and crowned him with glory and honor.
You have given him dominion over the works of your hands;
you have put all things under his feet,
all sheep and oxen,
and also the beasts of the field,
the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea,
whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
O Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth! (Psalm 8)
Spilled salt with salt shaker on wooden background
The Gospel from yesterday’s daily Mass featured one of Jesus’ lesser-known teachings:
Everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good, but if salt becomes insipid, with what will you restore its flavor? Keep salt in yourselves and you will have peace with one another (Mark 9:49-50).
Let’s begin with a few observations about salt in those times.
Salt was valuable. Some people were even paid with salt (which is where we get the word “salary”).
Salt was connected with healing and purity. Saltwater was applied to infections and wounds (it helps heal afflictions of the skin). Newborn babies were washed with saltwater.
Salt was connected with preservation. In the years before refrigeration, salt was one of the most common ways of preserving meat and fish.
Salt was connected with flavor. Salt adds spice to life; it brings out the flavor in food.
Salt was an image for wisdom. Gregory the Great said, “Now by salt is denoted the word of wisdom. Let him therefore who strives to speak wisely, fear greatly” (Pastoral Rule 4.12).
Salt was connected with worship and covenant. Scripture says, Season all your grain offerings with salt. Do not leave the salt of the covenant of your God out of your grain offerings; add salt to all your offerings (Lev 2:13). So the use of salt was ordered first for the meal offerings, and afterwards for “all” offerings, including the “burnt offering.”
Scripture speaks elsewhere of a “covenant of salt.” For example, Don’t you know that the LORD, the God of Israel, has given the kingship of Israel to David and his descendants forever by a covenant of salt? (2 Chron 13:5) The covenant of salt refers to the imperishable and irrevocable quality of the engagement made between the two parties to the covenant.
The use of salt to signify and ratify what was sacred was widespread. There is a Latin saying attributed to Pliny the Elder (and Virgil, too), Nulla sacra conficiuntur sine mola salsa (Sacred things are not made without salted meal).
To apply the image of salt to the Christian life, we should see that the Christian is charged with purifying, sanctifying, and preserving this wounded and decaying world by being salt to it. The Christian is called to bring flavor to life in a world that is so often filled with despair and meaninglessness.
With that background, let’s turn to an analysis of Jesus’ words from the Gospel of Mark.
Everyone will be salted with fire. Two images of salt and fire come together here, but the result is the same: purification. We have already seen how salt purifies. Fire does the same thing through the refining process. Precious metals come from the ground admixed with iron and many other metals. Subjecting them to fire purifies the gold or silver, separating it from the iron and other metals.
Both salt and fire purify by burning, each in its own way. Hence the Lord marvelously brings those two images together, telling us that we will all be “salted with fire.”
Indeed, it must be so. We must all be purified. Scripture says of Heaven, nothing impure will ever enter it (Rev 21:27). St. Paul speaks of purgatorial fire as effecting whatever purification has not taken place here on earth:
If anyone builds on this foundation [of Christ] using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—yet as one escaping through the flames (1 Cor 3:15-15).
The Book of Malachi also reminds us of our need to be purified, to be “salted with fire.”
But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver (Mal 3:2-3).
Yes, we must all be salted with fire. We must be purified, both here, and if necessary (as it likely will be), in Purgatory.
Salt is good, but if salt becomes insipid, with what will you restore its flavor?In other words, we have to let the salt of God’s grace have its effect or else we, who are to be salt for others, become flat, tasteless, and good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot (cf Matt 5:13).
If the salt will not be salt, there is no substitute for it. Jesus asks rhetorically, if salt becomes insipid, with what will you restore its flavor? There is no substitute for Christians. If we will not be light, then the world will be in darkness. If we will not be salt, then the world will not be purified, preserved, or have anything good or tasty about it at all. The decay of Western culture has happened on our watch, when we collectively decided to stop being salt and light.
Keep salt in yourselves and you will have peace with one another. In other words, allow the salt, the purification, to have its effect. Only if we do this will we have peace with one another.
Our divisions and lack of peace are caused by our sins. Thus, to accept the purification of being salted with fire is our only true hope for peace. When the Lord burns away my envy, I no longer resent your gifts; I rejoice in them and come to appreciate that I need you to complete me. In this way there is peace. When the Lord burns away my jealousy and greed and helps me to be grateful for what I have, I no longer desire to take what is rightly yours nor do I resent you for having it. In this way there is peace. When the Lord burns away my bitter memories of past hurts and gives me the grace to forgive, an enormous amount of poison goes out of my soul and I am equipped to love and to be kind, generous, and patient. In this way there is peace.
Yes, allowing ourselves to be salted with fire is a source of peace for us. And while we may resist the pain of fire and salt, just as with any stinging medicine we must learn that although it is painful it is good for us. Yes, it brings peace; it ushers in shalom.
We live in times when many people take offense very easily. While this may have been a human problem seen in all ages, it is particularly evident today, when relativism and subjectivism are so widespread. Relativism is essentially a form of subjectivism. In subjectivism, the measure of truth shifts from the object (i.e., that which is being perceived) to the subject (i.e., the one who is perceiving). In this system, truth becomes relative, because there are as many versions of truth as there are subjects to perceive it. In this highly subjective perception of reality, people tend to take their own views very personally and are easily offended by views contrary to their own.
Over time we have seen how subjectivism has given rise to “identity politics.” No longer does a person say that he holds liberal views; rather he says, “I am a liberal.” No longer does a person say that he struggles with same-sex attraction; rather he says, “I am ‘gay’.” Views and interpretations are no longer merely philosophies, paradigms, or tendencies through which a person interprets things. Rather, the cry goes up, “This is who I am. If you disagree or even worse seek to refute my viewpoint, you are offensive and hurtful. By disagreeing with me you are attacking me; you are a hater. You are an enemy whom I must fear and must keep at a distance lest you do me harm.” So-called “safe zones” on college campuses are an extreme outcome of this. In identity politics, the mere questioning of one’s views amounts to a personal assault that may cause lasting harm to the psyche!
We have also seen how relativism and subjectivism have led to the shaming and silencing of politically incorrect views, especially those based on traditional biblical faith. Too many Christians have allowed themselves to be silenced by accusations such as this common one: “You are judging me.” Never mind that the conversation is about a moral issue or a particular behavior, not about “you.” Identity politics says, “I am my behavior, therefore your contrary view hurts me; this makes you a bad and offensive person.”
No one (other than a sociopath) deliberately tries to hurt or offend others. Many Christians have been effectively silenced by the fear of causing offense, even if there is no reason for offense to be taken. As our fearful silence has spread, the moral darkness has grown ever deeper.
Volumes could be written to address the problems associated with subjectivism and relativism. St. Thomas Aquinas provided a cogent response to the issue of so easily taking offense in his Summa Theologica:
It was foretold (Isaiah 8:14) that Christ would be “for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offense to the two houses of Israel.”
The salvation of the multitude is to be preferred to the peace of any individuals whatsoever. Consequently, when certain ones, by their perverseness, hinder the salvation of the multitude, the preacher and the teacher should not fear to offend those men, in order that he may insure the salvation of the multitude. Now the Scribes and Pharisees and the princes of the Jews were by their malice a considerable hindrance to the salvation of the people, both because they opposed themselves to Christ’s doctrine, which was the only way to salvation, and because their evil ways corrupted the morals of the people. For which reason our Lord, undeterred by their taking offense, publicly taught the truth which they hated, and condemned their vices. Hence we read that when the disciples of our Lord said, Dost Thou know that the Pharisees, when they heard this word, were scandalized? He answered, Let them alone: they are blind and leaders of the blind; and if the blind lead the blind, both fall into the pit (Matthew 15:12,14).
A man ought so to avoid giving offense, as neither by wrong deed or word to be the occasion of anyone’s downfall. “But if scandal arise from truth, the scandal should be borne rather than the truth be set aside” as Gregory says (Hom. vii in Ezech.).
[Summa Theologica III, Question 42, Article 2]
Not a bad reply; read it and heed it!
Remember, just because some takes offense, doesn’t mean you gave offense.
In the Divine Office last week, we read from the Book of Proverbs; in this week’s Masses we are reading from Sirach. Both of these books are part of the Wisdom Tradition.
Today, I’ll be reviewing a few of the sayings from Proverbs, but before doing so, I’d like to explain the use of the word fool (as contrasted with wise one) in the Wisdom Tradition. Without a richer understanding of the term fool, it is possible to interpret its use as a mere ad hominem attack.
To the modern mind, the word fool is demeaning and hurtful. It tends to be used to refer to one who is irredeemably stupid, buffoonish, and/or lacking in common sense—one who is “dumb as a rock.”
However, when the Scriptures use the term fool it is set forth in contrast to one who is labeled wise. Its usage in Scripture is more nuanced, a description of one who rejects wisdom rather than merely a pejorative. There are several Hebrew words that are translated as fool. Here are two of them:
One Hebrew root of fool is אֱוִיל (ewil), which means to be perverse and lacking in reflection. In context, the word refers to
those who despise wisdom and discipline (Proverbs 1:7, Proverbs 15:5),
those who mock guilt (Proverbs 14:9),
those who are quarrelsome (Proverbs 20:3),
those who are licentious (Proverbs 7:22), or
those for whom attempted instruction is folly (Proverbs 16:22, Proverbs 27:22, Jeremiah 4:22, Job 5:2-3, Isaiah 19:11, Psalm 107:17).
A second Hebrew root is כְּסִיל (kasal), which means a stupid fellow, a dullard. In context, the word refers to
those who hate knowledge (Proverbs 1:22),
those who delight not in understanding (Proverbs 18:2),
those who love to do mischief (Proverbs 10:23, Proverbs 12:23, Proverbs 15:2), or
those who feed on the mischief of others (Proverbs 15:14).
Thus we are not dealing with someone who is stupid, but rather one whose stance is against that which is reasonable, holy, orderly, and wise. Such people may in fact be intelligent and have wide knowledge about things of the world, but their stance is against Godly Wisdom. They are set against what matters to God; they are rooted in the passing things of this world. They base their lives on transitory and unimportant things, which cannot form the true basis for salvation.
The Latin Vulgate often uses the wordinsipiens (unwise) to refer to foolishness. In other words, foolishness is the setting of oneself against wisdom.
Simply thinking that fool means stupid, is failing to grasp the nuance of the word. While it is not a flattering portrayal, neither is it mere name-calling; rather, it is descriptive. Fools are those who set themselves against wisdom; they are not merely stupid people.
With that in mind, let’s examine a few passages from the Proverbs. They help to explain what God’s Church and those who seek wisdom are up against. My comments are presented in red text.
Blessings are for the head of the just, but a rod for the back of the fool (Prov 10:6).
God’s law is a great blessing to those who love wisdom. His commandments are not prison walls; they are defending walls. His commands do not limit freedom so much as they frame it within necessary limits.
But to the foolish, to those who hate and despise God’s wisdom, to those who hate discipline and reasonable limits, God’s law—any authority that tries to limit behavior—is hateful and punishing, like a rod on the back.
Many today are not simply indifferent to God’s wisdom as proclaimed by the Church and Scripture, they are openly hostile to it!
It is like the reaction of someone who has been sitting in a very dark room and is suddenly overwhelmed by bright light. He despises the light and protests its presence as something hateful and hurtful. Jesus lamented, And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil (Jn 3:19).
To those who despise God’s wisdom, it is seen not as a brilliant and beautiful light, a blessing for the mind to contemplate; rather, it feels like a punishing rod on the back.
A wise man heeds commands, but a prating fool will be overthrown. A path to life is his who heeds admonition, but he who disregards reproof goes astray (Proverbs 10:8, 17).
The wise man listens to instruction and strives to base his life upon it. The wise humbly accept that they do not know all things and must be taught by God.
But fools, those who hate wisdom, prattle on and on about their own opinions. They believe anything is true simply because they think it.
It is difficult to reason with them, because although they scoff at religious truth as mere “religion,” it is really they who exhibit a far more extreme version of “blind faith” than any Christian believer who sees faith and reason as compatible.
The text says that the end of a fool is destruction. Many political ideologies, errant trends, and misguided philosophies have come and gone over the years, yet the Church remains. The wisdom and the Word of the Lord endure forever.
He who walks honestly walks securely, but he whose ways are crooked will fare badly (Prov 10:9).
Evil has its hour. It rises, seems glamorous to many, and is praised and paraded about as some new form of liberation.
But evil cannot last, and those who practice it will not flourish. It may come in the form of addiction, disease, strife, inner conflict, or any number of resentments rooted in false hope; but those who practice it will fare badly.
Only those who walk in honesty and in the truth—time-tested truth taught by God Himself—will walk securely. They will have trials to be sure, but if they follow God’s time-tested wisdom, even these difficulties will help them to reach their goal.
He who winks at a fault causes trouble, but he who frankly reproves promotes peace (Prov 10:10).
There is great pressure from many sectors today to remain silent about sin and evil. Those who do speak of sin are called judgmental and intolerant. Sadly, many Christians have succumbed to this pressure; nothing but trouble can result. The moral cesspool that is the modern age is evidence of this.
The correction of faults, frankly and with love, is an act of charity (St. Thomas Aquinas). Error and sin bring war and division, both individually and collectively, but God’s truth, lovingly proclaimed, brings peace by insisting on what is good, right, true, and beautiful.
We live in an age that winks at evil. The world seems to find evil funny, and often celebrates it in visual entertainment, written media, music, and numerous other ways. The destructiveness of the glamorization of evil is apparent if one simply reads a newspaper or turns on the news.
God’s law is His peace plan for this broken world of ours; it is His wisdom that will bring us peace.
A fountain of life is the mouth of the just, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence (Proverbs 10:11).
Jesus warned that Satan and those who are evil often masquerade in sheep’s clothing, while underneath they are ravenous wolves (see Mat 7:15). Many in our world today who despise God’s wisdom conceal their violence with euphemisms such as pro-choice, no-fault divorce, reproductive freedom, euthanasia, and death with dignity.
Despite the cloak of pseudo-compassion, they ultimately peddle death and division. God’s wisdom, on the other hand, speaks to the dignity of every human life, to hope, and to the promise of life, in spite of any difficulties.
The just man’s recompense leads to life, but the gains of the wicked, to sin.Better a little with fear of the Lord, than a great fortune with anxiety. Better a little with virtue, than a large income with injustice (Proverbs 10: 15, 16).
For those who are striving to be just and to follow God’s wisdom, the rewards received are to be shared generously with others. The gains of the wicked, however, lead to sins such as gluttony, greed, hoarding, and other excesses. Rather than sharing their abundance with others, they spend it on the flesh and place their trust in creatures rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever.
Where words are many, sin is not wanting; but he who restrains his lips does well (Proverbs 10:19).
In an age of non-stop communication and 24/7 news reporting, the sin of gossip is an almost endlessly available temptation. Discretion appears to have been lost. Almost everyone thinks he has a right to know everything about everyone else. The people’s “right to know” seems to have no limits.
Our age is one of many media (visual, verbal, musical, etc.), and sin is not wanting on account of this. We talk endlessly about other people’s business and often ignore our own issues. Why stay in our own lane when we can “tune in at 11,” read a scandal sheet, or surf to a website for the latest gossip?
Rare indeed are those who “restrain their lips” and cover their eyes and ears to what is sinful or even merely intriguing.
Crime is the entertainment of the fool; so is wisdom for the man of sense (Proverbs 10:23).
Our culture celebrates the sins of others as entertainment. On television, in the cinema, and in many other forms of communication, fornication, adultery, and all kinds of sexual misconduct are normalized—even celebrated.
It is the same with violence. Most adventure movies today glamorize its use solve problems. An injustice occurs and the “hero” (after 90 minutes of killing people, breaking things, and blowing up buildings) has a final showdown with the unambiguously evil enemy, killing him and walking away with the girl on his arm and the burning city in the background—roll credits.
We also glorify mobsters and others who participate in crime and violence.
Some will argue that movies should reflect life. That is fine, but most people are not killing other people, burning cities, crashing cars, or blowing up buildings. Most people are not Mafiosi. Sadly, however, there is a lot of fornication, adultery, and participation in homosexual acts. In real life, however, these actions are not without consequence (as movies depict).
Where are the movies that depict wisdom, beauty, love, truth, chastity, and strong families? There are some out there, but they are usually eclipsed by the far greater number that celebrate crime, violence, dysfunction, and sinfulness.
When the tempest passes, the wicked man is no more; but the just man is established forever (Proverbs 10:25).
The Church alone is indefectible, by the promise of Jesus Christ. Although evil movements, political forces, and sinful regimes rise and boast of their power, they eventually fall. The Church has seen empires rise and fall and philosophies come and go. Evil men have threatened the Church with destruction for thousands of years, but we have read the funeral rites over every one of them.
The truth will out. Evil will not remain; it cannot last. Christ has already won the victory.
The foolish keep resisting; they laugh at God’s wisdom, dismiss the Scriptures, and ridicule the Church. When they are gone, though, we will still be here proclaiming Christ crucified, gloriously resurrected, and ascended to glory.
Those who mock this resist the consistent message of history. Jesus is Lord, and though He permits His enemies time to repent, their days are ultimately numbered—evil cannot last.
These are just a few proverbs that speak to our times and help us to understand what God has to say about many modern trends.
Here’s a video with some other sayings. In posting this I do not mean to affirm every saying presented in it, but some of them do make good sense!
We live in an age of often strident secularism. If a religious utterance is made by a government official (or it would seem, even a First Lady) a loud cry goes up from an increasingly hostile minority. The platitude about “Separation of Church and State” is usually bandied about, a phrase that does not even appear in the Constitution.
Free Exercise clause – It is true that the First Amendment decrees that Congress shall pass no law respecting an establishment of religion, but it also specifies that it shall pass no law prohibiting the free exercise of religion. This second pillar, protecting religious expression, is eroding. Increasingly, the claim is made that religious bodies (especially the Catholic Church) have no right to attempt any influence in the legislative process. But this, of course, would limit our ability to freely exercise our faith, a major tenet of is that we should evangelize, be a light to the world, and testify to the truth. Secularists are increasingly proposing that the only acceptable place for religious expression of any kind is within the four walls of a church building.
Many secularists argue that America’s founding fathers wanted it this way, that they wanted a wall of separation because most of them were either irreligious or deists. But what is interesting is that most of them spoke freely of God, including appeals to Him and His will in their remarks. This is true even of Thomas Jefferson; any visit to the Jefferson Memorial will demonstrate that. Passages from a number of his writings and speeches are chiseled into the walls, and most of them refer to God. Most of these founding fathers (who purportedly wanted this dramatic separation of Church and State) were involved in drafting the Constitution.
Many people love to point out that God is never mentioned in the Constitution, but actually, He is! The final line of the Constitution reads as follows:
Done in Convention by the Unanimous Consent of the States present the Seventeenth Day of September in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and Eighty-seven and of the Independence of the United States of America the Twelfth. In Witness whereof, We have hereunto subscribed our Names:
In the year of our Lord? Oops, where did that come from? I guess the drafters of the Constitution never got the memo that God is not to be mentioned in government documents or at government functions. The Lord referred to is none other than Jesus Christ, for the year corresponds to the number of years since His birth.
The first signature on the Constitution is that of George Washington. Apparently he also never got the memo about keeping God and religion out of all things governmental, because he mentioned God frequently in his writings and speeches. Below are just three examples. The first speaks of our obligation to give thanks to God; it is a decree declaring a Day of Thanksgiving in the United States on November 26, 1789. The second is from a speech to an assembly of Delaware Indian Chiefs in 1779 and would be considered highly politically incorrect today. The third is from his last speech to the U.S. Legislature.
Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me to “recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:” Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us. And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shown kindness to us), and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best. Given under my hand, at the city of New York, the 3d day of October, A.D. 1789 George Washington, President.
You do well to wish to learn our arts and ways of life, and above all, the religion of Jesus Christ. These will make you a greater and happier people than you are (Speech to the Delaware Indian Chiefs on May 12, 1779).
I now make it my earnest prayer that God would … most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility, and pacific temper of the mind which were the characteristics of the Divine Author of our blessed religion (Last Official Address of George Washington to the Legislature of the United States).
Abraham Lincoln also often referred to God and faith:
On Faith as among the Civic Virtues – Intelligence, patriotism, Christianity, and a firm reliance on Him, who has never yet forsaken this favored land, are still competent to adjust, in the best way, all our present difficulty (First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1861).
On Divine Providence – In the very responsible position in which I happen to be placed, being a humble instrument in the hands of our Heavenly Father, as I am, and as we all are, to work out his great purposes, I have desired that all my works and acts may be according to his will, and that it might be so, I have sought his aid—but if after endeavoring to do my best in the light which he affords me, I find my efforts fail, I must believe that for some purpose unknown to me, He wills it otherwise. If I had had my way, this war would never have been commenced; If I had been allowed my way this war would have been ended before this, but we find it still continues; and we must believe that He permits it for some wise purpose of his own, mysterious and unknown to us; and though with our limited understandings we may not be able to comprehend it, yet we cannot but believe, that he who made the world still governs it (Letter to Eliza Gurney, October 26, 1862).
On Religious Liberty – But I must add that the U.S. government must not, as by this order, undertake to run the churches. When an individual, in a church or out of it, becomes dangerous to the public interest, he must be checked; but let the churches, as such take care of themselves. It will not do for the U.S. to appoint Trustees, Supervisors, or other agents for the churches (Letter to Samuel Curtis, January 2, 1863).
On the Justice of God – Fondly do we hope—fervently do we pray—that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue, until all the wealth piled by the bond-man’s two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash, shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said “the judgments of the Lord, are true and righteous altogether” (Second Inaugural Address, March 4, 1865).
These are just a few samples showing that the aversion to any religious reference is relatively new, and is a disposition unknown to our founding fathers as well as to those of Lincoln’s era. These quotes do not “prove” that Presidents Washington and Lincoln were perfect Christians or that they were never critical of any aspects of religion, but they do indicate that they both understood the importance of religious faith to our country and were quite comfortable articulating both the need for faith and its benefits.
Extremism – Recent attempts to completely ban any religious expression, any spoken appreciation for religion, or any encouragement of its practice, would surely seem extreme to these men—extreme and far removed from the embrace this land of ours has historically extended to faith.
Washington and Lincoln did not hesitate to invoke God, ask His blessings, and exhort their fellow citizens to hearty prayer. Let us pray for our country and all of our leaders. Happy Presidents’ Day!
