Word to the Wise
Tuesday, November 8, 2022 - Tuesday in the 32th Week in Ordinary Time
[Titus 2:1-8, 11-14 and Luke 17:7-10]For the grace of God has appeared, saving all and training us to reject godless ways and worldly desires and to live temperately, justly, and devoutly in this age, as we await the blessed hope, the appearance of the glory of the great God and of our savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to deliver us from all lawlessness and to cleanse for himself a people as his own, eager to do what is good. [Titus]
These words from the Letter to Titus appear, very appropriately, at one of the Masses at Christmas. But they are apropos for any day of the liturgical year because they pretty much sum up the Christian message to the world. The effort to train all of us "to reject godless ways and worldly desires and to live temperately, justly, and devoutly in this age, as we await the blessed hope, the appearance of the great God and of our savior Jesus Christ," is ongoing and, if history is any indication, we need to do a much better job of it!! The un-Christian nonsense we hear from supposedly Christian politicians (and preachers) in an election year is Exhibit A! And, if the complaints from the pews about the quality of preaching in our pulpits is any indication, a lot of the "training" that should be going on is not happening because of poor training of the preachers!!
The sheer goodness and desire to "live temperately, justly and devoutly" is there. I experience it in the lives of parishioners of all ages and walks of life. But the kind of encouragement it needs is often lacking because of an emphasis on maintaining institutional security. The "new evangelization" proclaimed by Pope St. John Paul II needs to "reboot!"
The positive words of the Letter to Titus can serve as a good reminder of what we are about as Christians. They are good "training" that we can share with others. AMEN