September 11th is a date that is certainly unforgettable, and I know that many of you served based on that event and the call to duty it inspired. There is no way that any platitudes I might offer would do it justice, so I won't attempt it. However, the first reading from the daily Mass this past Tuesday offered something important for all of us who have worn the uniform, deployed overseas and later struggled to reconcile our behavior with our Catholic faith. Here's the portion of that reading from Paul's letter to the Corinthians that I found compelling:
Do you not know that the unjust will not inherit the Kingdom of God?
Do not be deceived;
neither fornicators nor idolaters nor adulterers
nor boy prostitutes nor sodomites nor thieves
nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor robbers
will inherit the Kingdom of God.
That is what some of you used to be;
but now you have had yourselves washed, you were sanctified,
you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ
and in the Spirit of our God.
(1 COR 6:5-11)
Ouch! I will tell you that I , personally, engaged in buffoonery that many sailors engage in, some of which is not too far off from St. Paul's list above. Am I proud of it? No. Did I think it was OK? Probably. Everybody else was doing it, right? Not exactly, but that's what happens when you apply "moral relativism" to a situation: you know it's wrong, but you do it anyway because it seems OK based on the circumstances. Thirty years later I regret it very much, and if I could go back and tell my younger self not to do it I would. But that's not possible.
The message from Paul is not to call you out about the sins (he was a guy, and a soldier, so I'm sure some of this was autobiographical) but to offer the way out: reconciliation. "Now you have had yourselves washed..." God gives us all the power to cleanse our consciences of what we have done in the past and clear a path for a different kind of future, regardless of how serious we feel our transgressions are. Christ on the Cross said "Forgive them for they know not what they do". If he can forgive the people who beat him, whipped him, crowned him with thorns and then made him drag the very cross they were going to nail him on all over town, he can certainly forgive you.
The sacrament of Reconciliation is just that - a sacrament. It's a precious gift offered to you by the church. You don't need to tell the priest everything all at once because grace is everlasting. You don't have to keep going back to the same sins over and over again. I know, I did that about a few things from Paul's list and, finally, a priest friend of mine said "Steve, you don't need to tell me that again, God forgave you already." Wow, it made a huge impact.
My suggestion is that you do an examination of conscience and just pick ONE thing to focus on that will help you begin to unburden yourself. The first thing you'll notice is that the definitions associated with the Commandments are a little bit more involved than what you might recall. That's so you can make a good confession. Believe me, the first time I got to a few of those I thought I was the worst person on the planet. I wasn't, and neither are you. Get yourself washed and sanctified and you'll feel like a new man.
God bless you, my friends.
Do you not know that the unjust will not inherit the Kingdom of God?
Do not be deceived;
neither fornicators nor idolaters nor adulterers
nor boy prostitutes nor sodomites nor thieves
nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor robbers
will inherit the Kingdom of God.
That is what some of you used to be;
but now you have had yourselves washed, you were sanctified,
you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ
and in the Spirit of our God.
(1 COR 6:5-11)
Ouch! I will tell you that I , personally, engaged in buffoonery that many sailors engage in, some of which is not too far off from St. Paul's list above. Am I proud of it? No. Did I think it was OK? Probably. Everybody else was doing it, right? Not exactly, but that's what happens when you apply "moral relativism" to a situation: you know it's wrong, but you do it anyway because it seems OK based on the circumstances. Thirty years later I regret it very much, and if I could go back and tell my younger self not to do it I would. But that's not possible.
The message from Paul is not to call you out about the sins (he was a guy, and a soldier, so I'm sure some of this was autobiographical) but to offer the way out: reconciliation. "Now you have had yourselves washed..." God gives us all the power to cleanse our consciences of what we have done in the past and clear a path for a different kind of future, regardless of how serious we feel our transgressions are. Christ on the Cross said "Forgive them for they know not what they do". If he can forgive the people who beat him, whipped him, crowned him with thorns and then made him drag the very cross they were going to nail him on all over town, he can certainly forgive you.
My suggestion is that you do an examination of conscience and just pick ONE thing to focus on that will help you begin to unburden yourself. The first thing you'll notice is that the definitions associated with the Commandments are a little bit more involved than what you might recall. That's so you can make a good confession. Believe me, the first time I got to a few of those I thought I was the worst person on the planet. I wasn't, and neither are you. Get yourself washed and sanctified and you'll feel like a new man.
God bless you, my friends.
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