“Pay Attention”

Back in the day, there used to be a lot more “fire & brimstone” teachings from the Church. I still tremble a bit when I recall going to confession to Fr. Frieberger back in the ‘50’s … he was a no nonsense, no funny business priest. You knew where you stood after a conversation with him…. nuance was not part of his approach. Admittedly this is the recall of a 10 year old kid from some 65 years ago, so he probably was a lot kinder than I remember. 

I just read a 1928 Lenten reflection from Fr. Thomas Judge, the founder of the Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity (St. Joseph Shrine) It seems that Fr. Judge was also a no nonsense, no funny business priest. Let me quote a few lines. 

“Remember, man, that thou art dust.” Why did she (the church) say that to us ? Because she is a loving mother and she does not wish us to live in a fool’s paradise. She wants us to realize that this (life on earth) is not heaven. We are not drifting in the way of some aimless fate; we are on probation. Upon the way we lived yesterday, today and tomorrow, a destiny depends. She wants to remind us that there is a heaven to gain and a hell to avoid. That is the reason she reminds us of that which is temporal and that which is perishable. She reminds us of a death, and she tells us that terrible truth, that corruption is going to begin just as soon as the soul is truant from its body, when the breath of life is breathed back into the hands of its Creator. Nature will call to her, “Aid those little handmaids of corruption.” Oh think of the process of corruption until (we become) that last atom of dust! These are the truths the Church wants to keep before you.”

I guess the point of bringing this up is that we live in a world where everything  is considered okay (except God and his laws). “I’m the arbiter of what’s right and wrong. I decide everything about everything. If I don’t like a particular law, I don’t follow it and change it.” Well, that’s a funny game to play as long as it’s a game. But life is not a game, it’s serious business. We will ultimately find out that some laws can’t be changed. If I don’t like the law of gravity and decide to mock it by jumping off the roof of a building, it’s not going to be pretty. There’s a consequence to ignoring the truth; it’s ultimately death…physical and spiritual. 

So, when our mother (Mother Church) tells us to not play in the traffic, we better pay attention…. our life is at stake. It’s always good to pay attention to our mother.