Dear Parishioners,
It was the 20th century philosopher
and author George Santayana who is noted for the quote:
“Those who cannot remember the
past are condemned to repeat it.”
All of us who are Christians as well as our spiritual ancestors,
the Jewish people, are able to refer
to sacred, inspired texts—the Torah or the Holy Bible—reminding us of important
lessons from salvation history. These
lessons of Scripture are timeless and must be understood as relevant for every
age because God’s truth never becomes insignificant or out-of-date.
At various times in the
history of the Jewish people, the covenant with God was broken. The people worshipped false gods, led immoral
lives and failed to heed the warnings of the prophets. Because of their rebelliousness, they often paid
a most severe price. They were exiled
from their land, enslaved or even killed.
In the Second Book of Kings (Chapter 22 f.), we read of the reign of King
Josiah (641-609 BC) and how the Book
of the Law was rediscovered in the Temple during his time. Unfortunately, the people had become oblivious to their obligations concerning the covenant with God. “When the king heard the words of the book of the law, he tore his garments.” (2 Kg. 22: 11) The tearing of one’s clothes is an ancient
tradition among the Jews, and it is associated with mourning, grief, and loss. The King realized that he and his people had
not been living up to the covenant and he feared the consequences of their infidelity. He began a series of religious reforms. He set himself to the task of cleansing the land
from idolatry. He wanted to make it
right again before God.
Why do I make reference to this
story?
I think that if we forget to draw
upon the teachings of the inspired Word
of God, we will repeat the mistakes of the past and wind up suffering the
consequences of our actions. We have to
remain faithful to our part of the covenant
with God. This covenant with God has to be seen through the Person of Jesus Christ. . . . For this is the chalice of my Blood,
the Blood of the New and Eternal Covenant . . . . We hear these words of consecration at every
Mass. Jesus established this covenant and sealed it in His own Blood.
Are we faithful to the covenant or have we abandoned it? Are we committed to worshipping the true God? Do we seriously keep His commands? Do we know and live the words of Sacred Scripture? Do we pray daily? Do we buy into the ways of the world around us
and wind up compromising our Christian
values? Do we seek to do the will of God in our lives?
The call of the prophets was for
the people to return to the Lord and to be faithful to the covenant with God.
Be modern-day prophets and get this word out
to the people around us!
Fr. Ed Namiotka
Pastor
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