Word to the Wise
Wednesday, November 13, 2013 - Wednesday in the 32th Week in Ordinary Time
[Wis 6:1-11 and Luke 17:11-19]Hearken, you who are in power over the multitude and lord it over throngs of peoples! Because authority was given you by the Lord and sovereignty by the Most High, who shall probe your works and scrutinize your counsels. [Wisdom]
NOVEMBER 13, 2013 ST. FRANCES XAVIER CABRINI
It is amazing what politicians, business tycoons and other authorities [and, yes, church authorities] believe they can get away with! And, indeed, some of them do "get away with" outrageous things without being held to account by some human tribunal! The Book of Wisdom, however, [which I doubt these wrong-doers keep nearby] calls attention to the probing and scrutinizing that God does! God is more thorough than an investigative journalist!
"Power corrupts," wrote Lord Acton. I worry about that in my own position as prior of the Dominican community where I live. It is not easy to keep "everyone in the loop" on all decisions that come flying at one from day to day! I am accountable to both a council and chapter [all the members of the house] as well as to a Provincial. But, if I were brazen enough, there is much I could do that could cause harm. Wisdom needs help in the form of integrity. Trying to discern the presence of that integrity in someone in power can be difficult. That is why we need to pray at every election! AMEN