Category: light

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Check The Oil!

32nd Sunday of Ordinary Time: Matthew 25:1-13

I began my study of theology at St. Paul’s Seminary in Ottawa, Ontario in 1982. As was the custom in this diocese, I was given a parish assignment for the first time after my second year of theology – the summer of 1984. The diocese made arrangements with a car rental company to make cars available that summer  for any seminarian who did not have his own. Accordingly, when June came around, I made my way to Rent-A-Wreck in Westbrook, ME, and was issued a yellowish Ford Escort that had seen many, many trips around the barn. Still, it ran well enough, so I was good to go.  Continue reading “Check The Oil!”

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Light and Judgment

Fourth Sunday of Lent (A): John 9:1-41

“Jesus said, ‘I came into this world for judgment, so that those who do not see might see, and those who do see might become blind.'” – John 9:39

Needless to say, light is most useful. It enables us to see our surroundings, locate objects that we wish to take (or walk around), and recognize people we meet. Light helps us see the results of our work. However, light also helps us see any mistakes we have made. It shows us dust that we failed to clean up. It shows signs of aging on our faces. Light imposes no judgment on us; it merely shows us what is. Judgment, in this context, is how we respond to what the light shows us. Do we accept what we see: the flaws, for example, in our faces and bodies? Are we willing to act based on what we see: by cleaning up the dust, for example, or putting out the trash? In these cases, we pass judgment on ourselves, based on what we do with what the light shows us. Our choices reveal our true values. They show who – or what – we serve.  Continue reading “Light and Judgment”