WORD 2day: Tuesday, 15th week in Ordinary time
July 16, 2019: Exodus 2: 1-15a; Matthew 11:20-24
Yesterday we spoke of the situations of injustice in the world and the readings drove us to a reflection on it. Today, the readings issue a warning to us! The Lord is patient and merciful, but at the same time just and righteous. The Lord has a predilection for the poor, the oppressed, those who are sinned against, those who are denied of their rights, those who are constrained to live in conditions that they actually do not deserve to suffer. The warning is this: that we take care to see where we actually belong!
July 16, 1945 - was the day that the atomic bomb was dropped, bringing the World war II to an end. We are not called merely to judge who is right and who is wrong and give a verdict on persons. We are called to remain on the side of the right, the truth and justice. It is not that we may be oppressors, but even if indirectly by our inaction and silence we allow the oppression of a person or a people go scot-free, we are on the wrong side, on the side of injustice! As the famous holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel says, "We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented."
Our help is in the name of the Lord, affirms the Responsorial Psalm today. When we are a help to the oppressed, we are acting in the name of the Lord. The Lord raises Lord's judgement, Lord's Hero from where and when, we know not. But surely our help is in the name of the Lord, and let us strive to be always on the side of the Lord. If we fail, the Lord warns us today, "I tell you that it shall be more tolerable on the day of judgement for the land of Sodom than for you."
We celebrate Our Blessed Mother of Mount Carmel - so many events and memories, all converging on one single theme: where do we belong - to the right or to the wrong? to justice or to injustice? The scapular is not just some magical totem. It is a sign, a declared sign, a refuge we take under the power of God, under the banner of the Almighty. It is a sign of our personal choice! Yes, the choice is ours, every day, every moment.
Yesterday we spoke of the situations of injustice in the world and the readings drove us to a reflection on it. Today, the readings issue a warning to us! The Lord is patient and merciful, but at the same time just and righteous. The Lord has a predilection for the poor, the oppressed, those who are sinned against, those who are denied of their rights, those who are constrained to live in conditions that they actually do not deserve to suffer. The warning is this: that we take care to see where we actually belong!
July 16, 1945 - was the day that the atomic bomb was dropped, bringing the World war II to an end. We are not called merely to judge who is right and who is wrong and give a verdict on persons. We are called to remain on the side of the right, the truth and justice. It is not that we may be oppressors, but even if indirectly by our inaction and silence we allow the oppression of a person or a people go scot-free, we are on the wrong side, on the side of injustice! As the famous holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel says, "We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented."
We celebrate Our Blessed Mother of Mount Carmel - so many events and memories, all converging on one single theme: where do we belong - to the right or to the wrong? to justice or to injustice? The scapular is not just some magical totem. It is a sign, a declared sign, a refuge we take under the power of God, under the banner of the Almighty. It is a sign of our personal choice! Yes, the choice is ours, every day, every moment.