Monday, March 11, 2019

The same struggles

In yesterday’s gospel we heard about temptation. Today we pick up with an interesting list of commands, interesting for the specific subjects they address. It is a basic principle, that laws are given to address problems. If there is a law forbidding something, then you can bet it was a problem in the community. 

Stealing, lying, theft– these are reaffirmations of things already addressed in the 10 commandments. But then Leviticus veers into what we think of as more modern territory, the treatment of the disabled, the rights of workers, the ways we are to judge others, the spreading of slander. Today’s passage from Leviticus even dives into what we call “sins of omission”. We are reminded that we cannot stand idly by when our neighbor ‘s life is in danger. 

Then we are reminded that there are sins that reside in the inmost parts of our heart: hatred and grudges. 

In a short reading today we are reminded that we must look at all four categories of sin we confess at Mass: thoughts, words, what we have done, and what we have failed to do. 

On this Monday of the first full week of Lent, perhaps it is a good take to find some quiet time and place to do a thorough examination of conscience looking at all four kinds of sin.