Homily: Third Thursday of Lent
Third Thursday of Lent (Lk. 11:14-23) “True Good Cannot be Accomplished through Evil Means.”
When two people are in an argument how do we know when they have run out of intellectual reasons for disagreeing? Usually, it is when the name calling begins. An even more striking symptom that an argument has run out of steam is when one person calls the other evil.
We see this in our political discourse. When one politician has no rational argument to attack their opponent with, they will often label the person they are running against as evil. Another tactic is to say that they are beholding to radical groups on the left or on the right. When this happens, constructive conversation stops.
We can tell that the Jesus’ opponents could not find rational arguments. How can you attack another person for healing desperately ill people? A virtuous person would rejoice in the healing that has taken place. What were the critics of Jesus feeling? They were jealous, they were envious, they were worried that Jesus would gain more influence than they had.
Jesus’ response was a logical one. You can’t accomplish true good by evil means. We could say that it is like mixing oil and water. Good and evil cannot coexist.
The other thing that Jesus points out is that others healed the sick in the world he lived in. But they were not labeled as evil. Perhaps they were not a threat to the established order. Maybe these faith healers were not as admired as Jesus.
Satan does not rejoice when people are healed whether that be spiritually, mentally or physically. If there is a healing accomplished by evil means that healing does not usually last.
We should pay attention to the heated exchanges we have with others. If we begin to denigrate others, we need to ask the question, “Do I really have a sound assessment of the issue that I disagree with.” When we start to go down the path of insulting another, perhaps we need to examine our position again and ask the question, “Could I be wrong?”
Reflection Questions:
- Have I caught myself calling other people names? Why did that happen?
- What causes me to lose my cool in an argument? How might I avoid that?
Dear Parishioners,
I remind everyone that we will be observing the consecration of Ukraine to the Blessed Virgin tomorrow (on the Feast of the Annunciation). Pope Francis will be praying the official consecration in Rome this Friday. We join in solidarity with him.
Bishop Lou has announced that he will be returning to the practice of having parish representatives attend the Chrism Mass. This year the Chrism Mass will be on Tuesday April 12th at 1 p.m. at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Peoria.
During the last few years, Catholic School children have attended this Mass. Bishop Lou would obviously like to have a wider participation form the faithful of the diocese. If you are interested in representing Sacred Heart, please let me know. The parish representatives will be bringing the oils back to their parishes.
May Our Lady of Peace bring an end to the fighting in Ukraine.
Fr. Mark