Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, February 16, 2025
(click here to listen to or read today’s scriptures)
Blessed art thou
Advice columnist Ann Landers published a syndicated column from 1943 till 2002. Here is one of her pointed responses to a question:
Dear Ann Landers,
I have a problem. I’m happily married to a wonderful wife, we have two children. I also have been seeing a young woman for the past 6 months. My problem is that I love both of them. What should I do?
Signed, Confused
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- Don’t give me any of that morality stuff.
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Ann Landers wrote back (in her newspaper column):
Dear Confused,
The only difference between animals and humans IS morality. I suggest you consult your local veterinarian.
Ann Landers sometimes made mistakes, but not this time. Survival of the fittest is not the backbone of the human way of life. Morality is its solid rock. We make decisions based on the good of all, never just ourselves. The fact that we make different decisions does not mean we start with a different morality. The moral foundation of the universe is an expression of God’s own nature and everything is governed by it.
Morality depends on God because God is the only one who can assure that justice is done, if not now, then in the next life. We can ignore morality, but even babies show signs of a rudimentary moral compass.
Raising his eyes toward his disciples Jesus said:
           Blessed art thou who are poor,
                       for the kingdom of God is yours.
           Blessed art thou who are now hungry,
                       for you will be satisfied.
           Blessed art thou who are now weeping,
                       for you will laugh.
           Blessed art thou when people hate you,
                       and when they exclude and insult you,
                       and denounce your name as evil
                       on account of the Son of Man.
Jesus made sure his listeners understood that this is true, but all of us must decide whether to turn away, or turn toward, a moral life.
Woe to you who are rich,
                       for you have received your consolation.
           Woe to you who are filled now,
                       for you will be hungry.
           Woe to you who laugh now,
                       for you will grieve and weep.
           Woe to you when all speak well of you,
                       for their ancestors treated the false prophets in this way.
A few days ago my friend Laura guided me through a quiet time, first settling into my home of choice. I chose a desert tent with a hole in the center of the roof, so I could have a fire to retreat from the cold night air. She asked me to sit down in a comfortable spot, and I sat in a rocking chair beside the fire, and rocked back and forth, back and forth, as grandma did in Robert Munsch’s book Love Me Forever.
Then Laura asked me to imagine Jesus coming into my home and how it felt to be with him. Where was he in the room? I felt peaceful as Jesus came in, and he sat in a second rocking chair near me. We sat around the fire. She asked me to imagine giving Jesus a gift, and Jesus giving me a gift. I wanted to give Jesus my attention to his presence. And from Jesus I asked for his constant awarenesss of who I am.
Blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD,
                       whose hope is the LORD.
           He is like a tree planted beside the waters
                       that stretches out its roots to the stream:
           it fears not the heat when it comes;
                       its leaves stay green;
           in the year of drought it shows no distress,
                       but still bears fruit.
The Lord watches over the way of the just.
 (Jeremiah 17, Psalm 1, 1 Corinthian 15, Luke 6)
(posted at www.davesandel.net)
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