Word to the Wise
Thursday, February 27, 2025 - Thursday in the 7th Week in Ordinary Time
[Sir 5:1-8 and Mark 9:41-50]Rely not on your weath; say not: "Who can prevail against me?" or, "Who will subdue me for my deeds?" for God will surely exact the punishment. Say not: "I have sinned, yet what has befallen me?" for the Most High bides his time. Of forgiveness be not overconfident, adding sin upon sin. [Sirach] Man
Many of us can recall from our Baltimore Catechism the sin of presumption - a sin against Hope. It basically means that we should not take God for granted and do whatever we want, thinking that "in the end" God will forgive us without our even asking for forgiveness, no matter what we did. We cannot "add sin upon sin" and dare God not to respond.
This lesson is often forgotten by people who are over-fond of power and think that the possession of power confers the right to do whatever they want to whomever they want. The old saying is true: "There will be a day of reckoning!" and that day can come anytime and not just at the end of time.
Forgiveness and mercy presume contrition and conversion in this life. This applies to every level of life from the most politically powerful figures to local parish leaders. The Book of Sirach was written before Jesus' time, but Jesus warns us, too, that we can't escape God's eye and be overconfident that we can "slide under the catch" at the end. AMEN