Short Exercise 42
Let’s begin with the exercise today – in part so that I don’t have to copy out the text here.
Read Mat 25:31-46
Commentary
This passage had already struck me several years back in campo, when the priest in a homily mentioned that it would seem from the passage – especially from the ending of it (see v.42-46) – that our Lord is most grieved not so much by things that we do, but by things we fail to do. Things that we could have done, had the power and resources and knowledge and skill and talent to do, but didn’t bother… didn’t eventually do them. Just didn’t get round to making time to get them done. The Church sometimes calls these “sins of omission”. From these words of Jesus, it would seem such omissions are what disturb him most. And these omissions may be due to apathy, imprudence, lukewarmness or coldness in attending to our religious, social or professional duties. (Apathy meaning indifference: “I just don’t care! Couldn’t be bothered!” Imprudence meaning I fail to apply my mind, to put mental effort into studying the matter at hand, perhaps consulting someone, and to come up with a solution.
Lukewarmness/coldness meaning finding or making excuses for my lack of diligence.)
Last year, same passage slapped me differently. Notice that for the good guys, they were rewarded with heaven after Jesus “evaluated” them on 6 points (see v.35-36): “…I was (1) hungry and you gave me food, (2) I was thirsty and you gave me drink, (3) a stranger and you welcomed me, (4) lacking clothes and you clothed me, (5) sick and you came to me, (6) in prison and you came to see me.”
In the first 4 points, the problems are successfully resolved. Hunger, thirst, “strangeness”, nakedness all done away with! Not so in the 5th and 6th. In these last two cases, the problems persisted. You came to me, came to see me, but I remained sick or in prison. You were “unsuccessful”. But Jesus still lists them among the reasons for reward. Why? The only reason I could come up with was because at least you tried. You did something. You tried what you could. At least you came…
Manliness is not about 100% success in everything we touch. That’s not possible. But it is about trying 100% Try to be manly! Try to be sincere! Try to be obedient! Try to be pure! Fail as many times as you wish, but don’t stop trying!
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