Dear Friends,

Genuine love is pure gift. It gives without receiving and while, at the same time, eliciting a response of love; it neither requires or depend upon one. Genuine love is not of human origin. It cannot be defined fully with human categories nor controlled by human effort; rather, it is the very nature of God Himself. Thus, the love that forgives is not the absence of a reprimand or a penance; rather, it is the Truth of the presence of God Himself, which empowers and encourages us to freely acknowledge our fault; to sincerely accept responsibility for the wrong committed; and to graciously make amends for the injustice caused. Thus, in the presence of pure Truth and Charity, we are roused to recognize our paltry response to His invitation and the responsibility of the light burden and sweet yoke of our faith. We can begin to know and practice such love only after understanding ourselves as forgiven and loved by God. This experience of being both “Beloved” and “Forgiven” by the Creator God provides the prism through which we understand God’s perspective that everyone else is also “Beloved” and “Forgiven” by God Himself, in whom we all have communion. Shakespeare expresses God’s challenging and fulfilling invitation to participate in His divine life most powerfully in The Merchant of Venice in Portia’s speech to Shylock: “The quality of mercy is not strained. It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven upon the place beneath. It is twice blest: It blesseth him that gives and him that takes. … It is an attribute to God Himself; and earthly power doth then show likest God's when mercy seasons justice.” (IV, 1)

The words of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross quoted above are those of a young agnostic Jewish woman who came to Christianity through her intellectual pursuit of truth and meaning through the study of Philosophy. Edith Stein became a Catholic and was drawn to become a Carmelite nun. She was arrested and sent to Auschwitz to be martyred in the gas chambers. To some, her life and death may seem to have been a waste, or would have been more fruitful if she survived; but to those with faith, her life gives witness to the fact that academic prowess and spiritual surrender can coexist in the mind and heart of a serious and mature person. Moreover, her life testifies to the fact that, even in the midst of horrible and incomprehensible suffering and terror, faith alone gives life meaning.

In today’s Gospel: Jesus said to His disciples: “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother. If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, so that ‘every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church. If he refuses to listen even to the church, then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector.” In this passage, Jesus gives counsel not just how to forgive, but also, how to be prepared to receive forgiveness and be forgiven. It is also one of the texts that supports the use of excommunication as a curative, not punitive, action to bring the sinning brother back into the fold of the Church. In other words, the formal act of excommunication is a clear statement, both in charity and truth, about the state of the person in question based upon his/her own choice or action. This is further supported by what Jesus says in the last sentence of His teaching. What is interesting about this last sentence is that its meaning is not what we first conclude. In the broader context of the Gospel, how does Jesus instruct us to treat the Gentile or the tax collector? Recall the parable of the Good Samaritan or the Prodigal Son, or the story of the Samaritan woman or the Roman centurion; preeminent in this matter is the call of Matthew to the Apostolic band. These provide the hermeneutical key to greater understanding of the gravity of Jesus’ call to discipleship. In a nutshell, St. Paul says it so eloquently to the Church of Rome, as we hear in the second reading: “Love does no evil to the neighbor; hence, love is the fulfillment of the law.” In other words, what Jesus instructs is not to point out others’ faults to demean, embarrass, or humiliate. What He teaches is that we are to approach the other person by ourselves and discuss the offense, seeking clarification and intention. If the offense is real and the person refuses to accept responsibility, we should get another to join us in the fraternal correction, not to gang up on him/her, but to restore communion. In the final instance, the Church informs the person of his/her state and the significance of his/her choice or action in which they have chosen to be out of communion with the Church and lovingly implores them to return to communion. Thus, the final sentence in Canon Law reads: “… the salvation of souls, which must always be the supreme law in the Church, is to be kept before one’s eyes.” (§1752)

Be of good cheer, have a blessed week and a safe Labor Day weekend!

Msgr. Grous