Word to the Wise
Friday, April 25, 2008 - St. Mark Evangelist - posted late due to computer glitch
[1 Peter 5:5B-14 and Mark 16:15-20]Be sober and vigilant. Your opponent the Devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in faith, knowing that your brothers and sisters throughout the world undergo the same sufferings.
These words from the First Epistle of Peter bring back many memories because they were chanted at the beginning of the "hour" of Compline in the Liturgy of the Hours every night back when I was a novice! (They now appear on Tuesday night only.) I assume the purpose was to help us be recollected and armed against any bad dreams, etc. In any case, they carry a message that I didn't think about at that time, focused as I was on surviving the novitiate experience in the frigid Minnesota winter. (They were chanted in Latin, of course!) If I had thought about it more, I would have realized that the other guys there with me and all Christians everywhere were suffering similar trials or much worse around the world. In the case of this scripture, the adversary is not so much physical or emotional suffering (as real as that is), but temptation to actions that are contrary to the gospel. The Hellenistic culture within which Christianity spread in the first years was a big challenge to a Christian lifestyle. St. Paul's letters mention any number of practices that were common in Corinth and elsewhere. How many of us have ruefully begun a sentence with the words, "In a weak moment, I...........!" Certain weaknesses call for greater vigilance than others, but even little ones, if repeated often enough have a cumulative effect. Often, in cases of physical and emotional health, we do not realize the cumulative effect until it's too late and a physician gives us the difficult news. Spiritually speaking the same thing can happen, but we have a much better chance of recovering spiritual health if we come to our senses in time. Listening to the words from Peter and recognizing our solidarity with others are good steps toward maintaining spiritual and moral health. AMEN Reply
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