Tuesday, September 13, 2006
At about 7 am this morning, I
was driving to a doctor’s appointment. The fierce glow of the rising sun made
it hard to drive whenever the road I took was facing east. Even with the visor
down and sunglasses on, it was hard to make my way. I also noticed that the
front windshield of the car, when seen in the light of the sun, looked terribly
dirty. Small spots on the window actually glowed and sparkled and it was as if
I was trying to see past a sheet of diamonds to make my way up the road. I’m
not describing anything that you haven’t experienced yourself from time to
time, I am sure.
All this caused me to think
about how our souls must look when pierced by the light of God’s glory. The
things that we barely notice of pay attention to might suddenly appear to be
significant blemishes in such a light, things that we would find it hard to
wipe away by our own efforts. And sometimes, we would try to block out the
light, much as I did this morning by wearing sunglasses and putting the visor
down---but even then, the blemishes still remained, for the light overcame any
attempt to shield myself from it.
Down through history, there have
been prophets who spoke with the light of God, and they often were annihilated
because the people couldn’t bare to look at themselves in the light of what
they were saying. I think of John the Baptist who spoke about Herod’s unlawful
relationship with his brother’s wife, whom Herod eventually had beheaded. And I
think today of Saint John Chrysostom (“Chrysostom” means “golden mouth” and was
given this name because of the renowned beauty of his preaching).
St. John spoke out about the
luxurious vane life style of the empress Eudoxia (of Constantinople—4th
century). Eventually he was driven into exile on the basis of trumped up
charges, and suffered so much that he died en route from one place to another.
The Psalms often speak of one
betrayed by the false accusations of another. Look especially at Psalms 52 –
59). And we need not forget that Jesus was condemned to crucifixion because of
the lies uttered against him by his enemies who could not bear the bright light
of his teaching or the bright witness of the many miracles he had worked.
The great hope our Catholic
faith offers us, however, is that the blemishes on our own souls which become
evident in God’s holy light will indeed be wiped away and we will be
made perfect. The doctrine of the purification of our souls makes logical
sense. Who, in fact, would be happy walking around heaven with all their
failings, weaknesses, peccadillos and even crimes being made fully visible in
the kingdom to come, where there will be no need for sun or moon, for Christ
will be the light?
In a few short weeks, the Church
will provide a special day when we pray for the dead (Nov. 2—all Souls’ Day)
which gives us a special opportunity to remember those who have gone before us
and to pray for their ultimate purification. And meanwhile, we can continue to
pray for our own, at the beginning of every Mass and through frequent repetition
of the Jesus Prayer, and in the Hail Mary, where we ask to blessed Mother to
pray for us sinners “now and at the hour of our death.”
And may Jesus Christ, the only
Son of God, have mercy on us all. And may he bless us all. Amen.
P.S. For a list of very challenging quotes by St. John Chrysostom, go to
this address:
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