Friday 26th week in ordinary time
"Lk 10:13-16"
"Woe to you, Chorazin! woe to you, Beth-saida! for if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it shall be more tolerable in the judgement for Tyre and Sidon than for you. And you, Caperna-um, will you be exalted to heaven? You shall be brought down to Hades."
It is hard to hear these words from You, Our Merciful Lord. It doesn't quite sound like You. I understand that it is not You who want to condemn them; it was they who didn't want to be saved. It wasn't You, Lord, who didn't knock at their door; it was them who didn't open. You want to save everyone but some stubborn sinners refuse to be saved. As St Augustine put it: "God who created you without you, will not save you without you." These people were free to accept You, and freely decided to reject You.
It's not sin but the obstinacy of sin that condemns people. It is the insanity of remaining in our sin and not wanting to make amends. This insanity could be named 'insinnity': the obstinacy of remaining in our sins. Our mission, in order to save souls, is to encourage those sinners to keep trying to fight against their sins and to atone for them. We are all sinners. The only difference is that some sinners keep fighting and some others have given up. Discouragement is the devil's great speciality. The enemy spends his energy trying to convince us to give up: 'You will never get rid of these sins' he suggests in your ear. 'This is too hard for you', 'There is no point in going to Confession: you will need to confess the same sin again in no time...' Sound familiar?
A medical doctor was giving a lesson to his students. They entered a ward crowded with patients and he asked: "Which one of these do you think should receive attention first? Who do you think is in the worst state?" After they had given their different opinions, he gave the right answer: "Do you see that man with flies on his face? If he has given up shooing the flies away, it's because he has given up on himself." We have this mission among our friends and relatives today, to assist those sinners who have given up and encourage them. Mary, my Mother - their Mother - Refuge of sinners, 'help me to help them'.
