Homily for Ordinary Time 23
September 10, 2023
Tolerance Is Not A Virtue
Twelve-year-old
Raymond was making trouble again. His mother, frustrated at his bad behavior,
threw up her hands and exclaimed, “Raymond! What is going to become of you!”
For some reason, those words struck him to his heart, and he went immediately
to the local church where, standing before the statue of the Blessed Mother, he
said, “My Lady, what is going to become of me?”
Immediately
he had a vision of the Blessed Virgin, who held out two crowns: one white, and
one red. The white one symbolized purity, and the red one symbolized martyrdom.
She asked the boy, “Will you accept either of these crowns?” Raymond said that
he would accept them both, and the vision ended. Raymond ended up turning his
life around drastically, becoming a Franciscan priest and taking the religious
name of Maximilian. We now know him better as St. Maximilian Kolbe, the Polish
priest who gave his life for another man at Auschwitz.
But if
it weren’t for the word of reproach from his mother, the young boy Raymond may
have headed down a completely different path. Sometimes a well-timed correction
can save a life and save a soul.
That’s
not easy, though, in a world that believes in “live and let live”. Hey, you do
you. Who am I to judge?, we ask. Our world holds up tolerance as the great
secular goal – but tolerance is not a Christian virtue. Jesus teaches us that we
do have a duty to care for the spiritual lives of others – there is a
beautiful principle in Catholic teaching called solidarity – basically the
idea that we are our brothers’ keeper, not only in their physical needs but
also in their spiritual needs. This is why, in addition to the Seven Corporal
Works of mercy – works such as feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty,
shelter the homeless – we also have Seven Spiritual Works of Mercy, such as
praying for the living and the dead, counseling the doubtful, instructing the
ignorant…and the very difficult one of admonish the sinner.
If we were to see a car crash by the side of
the road, I hope we would have the generosity of heart to stop and try to help
the people who might be injured. We wouldn’t just pass by and say, “Well, it’s
not my problem. They can do whatever they want.” Well, many people’s spiritual
lives are car wrecks – they are living in sin and their eternal souls are in
danger of being lost – can we just pass by without helping them?
Now, of
course, Christian correction is one of the hardest things to do well. If we see
our brothers or sisters sinning, how can we offer a word of reproach with the merciful
heart of Christ?
First –
we must discern if we are actually called to say something. We’re not called to
correct everyone at every moment. Sometimes we’re not the right person to say
something. Sometimes the fault is so small that we should overlook it for the
time being. Sometimes we may want to help the person grow, but it isn’t the
right time. So we have to listen to the Holy Spirit, who will put a burning desire
on our heart if we are supposed to speak up.
Second –
we must discern why we want to correct another. Is it because we truly
care about them, or because we want to feel superior to them? Is it because
their fault is bothering us and so we want to be relieved of their annoying
habit? We must make sure we are motivated by love for them and for their soul.
Third –
we ought to cover it all in humility and prayer. Our goal is to change a soul,
not win an argument. So we pray that the Holy Spirit may give us the words to
speak, and give them the ears and the heart to listen.
Fourth –
we must speak boldly and courageously, but also kindly and mercifully. Humor
helps! A friend of mine talks about a “compliment sandwich” – start out by
saying something kind about them, then slip in the correction, and close it
with another compliment.
Fifth –
we must show them how Christ’s way leads to greater happiness. Every decision
we make is because we think it will make us happy, but when we sin we are
choosing a counterfeit happiness over a real happiness. We ought to point out how
true happiness comes from following the Lord.
Finally,
never forget that even Jesus had people get angry with Him when Our Lord reproached
them for their faults. So if it doesn’t go well, don’t be discouraged. We can’t
be so concerned about our reputation – or even our relationship with the person
– that we stay silent when we are called to speak.
But with
all those caveats, do not be afraid, because sometimes a correction is all
someone needs to become a great saint. In the early days of the church there
was a young, wealthy, attractive actress named Pelagia. She was the ancient
version of a Hollywood star, complete with an entourage and the finest gold and
jewelry. One day she was passing through the city, past the cathedral, all
decked-out (and quite immodestly dressed), just as a meeting of bishops was
concluding. All of the bishops looked away, as her clothing was rather
revealing, except for the holy bishop Nonnus, who said, “I am delighted to see
such a display!”
The
other bishops were horrified that the holy bishop would delight in such
sensuality, but Nonnus continued, “Look how this woman cares far more for her
body and for the things of this world than we care for our souls and for the things
of eternity!”
His
fellow bishops were shamed, but Pelagia was struck to the heart by his words of
reproach. The next Sunday, she secretly attended Bishop Nonnus’ Mass, where he
preached about the vanity of this world and the delights of eternity. Once
again she was cut to the heart, and asked Nonnus for baptism. She was baptized and
changed completely – she freed her slaves, gave her riches to the poor, and
began living a life of prayer and works of charity. She is now St. Pelagia – who
became a saint because of the courage of a bishop to speak a difficult word to
her.
So do
not be afraid. We are called to care for the spiritual well-being of our
brothers and sisters, by praying for them, setting a good example, and at
times, speaking a word to bring them closer to the Lord.
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