Word to the Wise
Friday, February 25, 2011 - Friday in the 7th Week in Ordinary Time
[Sir 6:5-17 and Mark 10:1-12]A faithful friend is a sturdy shelter; he who finds one finds a treasure. A faithful friend is beyond price, no sum can balance his worth. A faithful friend is a life-saving remedy, such as he who fears God finds; for he who fears God behaves accordingly, and his friend will be like himself.
These words from Sirach have been a great comfort to me over the years. They remind me of one of the greatest of God's gifts: friendship. My years in campus ministry at universities where the student body was drawn from around the nation have resulted in a network of friends. This, in turn, has been a great support in my itinerant preaching ministry because, in most cases, the places I go to preach are rarely far from someone I know and love. Even if we are unable to meet because of commitments, etc., I draw strength and confidence from being near them. This is one reason, I suspect, that so few of my Dominican brothers embrace a full time itinerant ministry. It can be a lonely work if one knows no one anywhere! Indeed, growing older (I am 68 today) with the knowledge that one is accompanied and loved by friends takes much of the fear out of that inevitable process!
St. Thomas Aquinas speaks of friendship as summing up the whole law of love. To love one's friends for God's sake is to love God, who IS love! The great words from the Book of Sirach offer us the opportunity to reflect on the gift of friendship and its impact in our life. (The gospel scripture today is about divorce, which is the loss of a friendship and a terrible pain.) Bringing the memory of a loved one to mind and praying for them (I try to do this every day in the rosary) is one good way of communicating with them. Say hello to your friends today by praying for them! AMEN
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