Abbey-Roads2

The California wildfires.

Watching the news coverage, most of the evacuees were asked what they salvaged when they only had minutes or hours to flee their homes.  Most took very little, and their greatest concern was to rescue their families, children, and pets.  I thought back to the post Fr. Zuhlsdorf  wrote a week or so ago about this exact same topic.  I wondered if his readers in California remembered it, and if they thought Fr. Z’s post may have been prophetic?

Cruel judgement.

Mixed in with some of the news coverage was a brief piece about a radio talk show host.  The host was making fun of the wealthy residents, especially the Malibu celebrity community, mocking their potential need for aid, assistance, and shelter.  Elsewhere, on a couple of websites I read things like, “this is God’s judgement on the California sinners”, or “these people brought it on themselves because they built in a fire zone”, etc.   With comments like these, no wonder so many in our society hate Christians.  Where is the charity?

These people, no matter how affluent nor what their lifestyle, have lost home, property, possessions, and in most cases, a huge interruption in their abilty to earn a living - if not their entire livelihood.  If winter rains come, even more may be lost to mudslides.  What is wrong with people that they can so easily make light of others suffering such loss?

Loving our neighbor.

In today’s Gospel Our Lord anxiously proclaims, “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing!” (Luke 12)  Our Lord is speaking of the fire of Divine love, the burning fires of charity, which at its core is the burning desire for the salvation of souls.  Indeed, it seems the fire of love has grown cold today, even in the hearts of Christians.

The love of Christians could ignite, and like the California wildfire, set the blaze, engulfing the dry wood of those alienated from the Church, in and through our patience, our understanding and our love.  If only we stopped continually condemning others, dictating how they should be living, and try to love them as God loves them, perhaps this would spark the fires of belief in hearts grown cold and indifferent.

Charity is not an emotion.

I’m at fault - I’ve failed to understand the immense love God has for every person, no matter what their religion, no matter if a person is an athiest, an agnostic, or an enemy of the Church.  God loves the homosexual, the woman who has an abortion - God loves the sinner.  I don’t think we comprehend that in all of its depth.  I don’t think we truly realize that God permits the rain to fall on the good and the bad, producing the harvest for both.  I don’t think we fully comprehend how he permits the weeds to grow amongst the wheat.  We hear “hate the sin” and we end up hating the sinner.

It is difficult to comprehend, but when Jesus cries out in today’s Gospel, “I have a baptism to endure, and what anguish I feel until it is accomplished” he is speaking of his passion.  In his immense love, he gave himself into the hands of the impious, to be mocked, scourged, beaten, and crucified.  Totally abandoned, rejected even by his own, he cried out from the depths of his Sacred Heart, “I thirst” echoing that same thirst for love his persecutors experienced.  Yet more deeply, the very thirst of God - for love and for souls.

“You will all come to the same end unless you repent.”

We can’t know this however, until we lose everything we possess and cherish, and realize we are no better than those we condemn or hate.  Our knowledge of dogma and theology is nothing with out love.  How are men and women ever going to be attracted to Christ and his Church if we do not have love?  The commandments, dogma, theology, and threats of damnation rarely attract the unconverted.  Love, that is charity, does.

Suffering is a great equalizer.  May all of us who profess to be Christian be blessed by the Cross that we may understand the sufferings of others.