Wednesday in the Nineteenth Week of Ordinary Time

Scripture Readings: Ez 9:1-7; 10:18-22;   Mt 18:15-20                                 

Among the sayings of Sherlock Holmes do you remember the one about a watchdog?  Sherlock says to Dr. Watson, “I call your attention to the curious incident of the watchdog during the night of the robbery.”  Mystified, Dr. Watson replies, “But the dog did nothing that night.”  Sherlock says, “That was the curious incident.” 1

Isaiah writes, “Israel’s watchmen are blind; they are like silent dogs that will not bark, loving to slumber” (Is 56:10).  Why should they bark? Nothing’s going to happen.  But Ezekiel hears the Lord say, “Go through the city and put a mark on the foreheads of those who sigh and groan over all the abominations committed in it. Go out and strike the city.”  Who will sound the warning?

We all bear the burden of fraternal correction. Jesus says, “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone” (Mt.18:15). If the sin of one person is to be corrected, how much more the sins of a billion persons! In the last forty years women have had one and a half billion abortions worldwide.2   But isn’t the man also guilty?  That makes three billion people responsible for abortions.  But judges, doctors, nurses, health care providers, insurance companies, politicians and voters are also involved. That means about four billion people bear responsibility for the grave sins of abortion in our times.  That’s half of the world’s population. 

Elie Wiesel writes, “Never respond with indifference to monstrous moral evil.” 3   How can we respond to this monstrous evil?  Mostly by prayer and sacrifice, but also by our words of fraternal love and correction, encouraging people to accept the grace of repentance so that no one will be lost because of our silence.    

  1. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes: Silver Blaze et alia. Dover Thrift Edition, 2010.
  2. http://www.numberofabortions.com/
  3. Robert McAfee Brown, Elie Wiesel: Messenger to All Humanity. University of Notre Dame Press.

 

Wednesday in the Nineteenth Week of Ordinary Time

Scripture Readings: 2 Dt 34:1-12;  Mt 18:15-20               

Among the sayings of Sherlock Holmes there’s the memorable one about a watchdog.  He says to a Scotland Yard detective: “I call your attention to the curious incident of the watchdog during the night of the robbery.”  Mystified, the detective replies, “But the dog did nothing that night.”  Sherlock says, “That was the curious incident.” 1

Isaiah is like a Sherlock Holmes of the Old Testament.  He writes, “Israel’s watchmen are blind; they are like silent dogs that will not bark, loving to slumber”(Is 56:10).   

According to Jesus fraternal correction is a rule of life: “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone” (Mt.18:15).   If the sin of one person is to be corrected, how much more the sin of a billion persons.  In the last forty years women have had one and a half billion abortions worldwide.2   But isn’t the man also guilty?  That makes three billion people responsible for abortions.  But judges, doctors, nursing aids, office staff, health care providers, insurance companies, politicians and voters are also necessary for abortions. That means three to four billion people bear responsibility for the sins of abortion in our times.  That’s half of the world’s population. 

Elie Wiesel writes, “Never respond with indifference to monstrous moral evil.” 3   How can we respond to this monstrous evil?  Mostly by prayer and sacrifice, but also by our words of fraternal love and respect encouraging people to accept the grace of repentance so that no one will be lost because of our silence.    

1. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes: Silver Blaze et alia. Dover Thrift Edition, 2010.

2. http://www.numberofabortions.com/

3. Robert McAfee Brown, Elie Wiesel: Messenger to All Humanity. University of Notre Dame Press.