The Catholic Calendar for Monday, July 10, 2006
Monday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Scripture from today's Liturgy of the Word:
Hosea 2:16, 17c-18, 21-22
Psalm 145:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9
Matthew 9:18-26

A reflection on today's Sacred Scripture:

"The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness. The Lord is good to all and compassionate toward all His works." (Psalm 145:8-9)

What would Jesus do if He turned on the evening news?

How would He tolerate the violence, poverty, injustice and hopelessness that ravage our communities?

Would He say that it was someone else's problem to deal with?

Or would He be too overwhelmed by the impossibility of it all to find a way to restore hope, dignity and relevance to the victims?

Would Jesus squander His time and talents generating fame and fortune, while neglecting His own family and community?

Would He leave it up to governments to assist our struggling global neighbours, blindly trusting that they will automatically do what is right and just?

Would He be comfortable with a society where the rich get richer and the poor poorer?

Would Jesus be suspicious of people who are different than Himself?

Would He get any kind of enjoyment from scandalous gossip?

Would He be indifferent to the pillaging of God's creation, all to satisfy the extravagant needs of one or two generations while condemning all future ones to live in a world stripped of its life-giving beauty?

Would He be content to go on with His own life, oblivious of the suffering of those that are - the rejected - the homeless - the unemployed - the elderly - the sick - the forgotten - the lonely - the hopeless - the hungry - the abused - the oppressed?

We call ourselves followers of Christ, but are we really? If we examine the focus of our everyday actions and our priorities - how closely do we find that they would match what Jesus would do in our place? In today's Gospel, we learn how Jesus was surrounded by suffering and with compassion brought hope and healing into the world - this was His mission! How much of our time and efforts do we devote to living this mission and continuing the legacy Jesus left in the care of His followers? Is it enough to simply donate a small portion of our excess to those less fortunate than ourselves? Or is there more yet that we can do and should do?

When a child in Africa, whose village has been decimated by AIDS and drought, cries out to God - why is God silent and the hunger continues? When a child, whose home is surrounded by bombs, gunfire and the screams of the dying, cries out to God - why is God silent and the dying continues? When a child prostitute, helplessly trapped in the slums of Calcutta, cries out to God - why is God silent and the suffering continues? Is it really God who is silent? Or is it we who have chosen to ignore God's call to be His healing hands, His voice of justice, and His eyes and ears of compassion?

Is it really we who are silent?

- Anne
(anne97 at gmail dot com)