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FRIDAY February 18-20, 2000 volume 11, no. 35 |
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SECTION ONE SECTION TWO SECTION THREE | |
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FRIDAY February 18-20, 2000 volume 11, no. 35 |
To print out entire text of Today's issue, go to |
SECTION ONE SECTION TWO SECTION THREE | |
Briefly the story deals with an aging farmer and veteran of World War II from Iowa whose conscience gets the best of him and he needs to reconcile with his brother who is dying. It brings to mind Christ's words in Matthew 5: 23-24, "Therefore, if thou art offering thy gift at the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother has anything against thee, leave thy gift before the altar and go first to be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift." Our Lord didn't say anything about how to get to "thy brother" but Straight's ingenuity and limitations dictate the mode of a tractor and that entails much of the story, the journey. And at the end of the journey Straight is not only a better man for it, cleansed and renewed, if not tired, but the personification of Jesus' words in Matthew 18: 15, "But if thy brother sin against thee, go and show him his fault, between thee and him alone. If he listens to thee, thou has won thy brother." That is the essence of "The Straight Story" and the lesson God wants us to learn about the importance of reconciling with our brother which encompasses all of mankind.
That is the lesson the Holy Father is stressing this Jubilee Year in which he has made Reconciliation the main theme. In three weeks we will observe World Day of Reconciliation on the First Sunday of Advent when Catholics the world over will ask forgiveness for past grievances committed and forgive those who trespassed against them. It is a man-made "Warning" inspired by the Holy Spirit in which we will examine our consciences and realize how we stand before God if we are truly honest with ourselves. Over the past few years the Church has an institution has been undergoing an examination of conscience for wrongs done over the centuries dating back to the Reformation, the Inquisition, and even the Holocaust. In doing so the Pope is not showing weakness as some have accused him of, but rather strength for it takes a strong, confident and honest person to say "I'm sorry" and truly mean it. Contrary to some media wags who have picked up on it and exploited it, the Church is not saying she was wrong in doctrine, dogma or mission for the infallibility of the successors of Peter remain intact. No, she was saying through John Paul II that the Church, though its Founder is Divine, has been entrusted to humans and the human factor comes into play in the temporal governing of the Church both in the hierarchy and the laity. Yes, the Church has made mistakes in the past, but she has become stronger through it, learning from her mistakes. Yet so many consider it a sign of weakness and a total admission of guilt when one says "we're sorry!"
Maybe that's why so few people, so few national leaders can say those words with conviction. They are still under the misconception that it will weaken them in the eyes of others, make them look like wimps. What it comes down to is the Capital Sin of Pride - one of the Seven Deadly Sins, and one most possess. It is the downfall of countless nations and leaders as well as their people throughout history. The Pope wants us to embrace humility and suppress pride by forgiving and forgetting. The latter is much harder than the former, and only through the grace of God can we forget wrongs done against us. In other words, holding grudges does no good to anyone. This is the message the Holy Father and his chief curial heads, as well as Archbishop Jean-Louis Tauran, Secretary for Relations with States, are trying to convey to leaders of countries in seeking peaceful settlements in the mid-east, in Kosovo, in China, in South America, in Northern Ireland and numerous other areas throughout the globe. The ecumenical movement advocated by the Holy Father has seen fruits in the pacts between Catholics and Anglicans, Catholics and Lutherans, Catholics and Jews and Catholics and Muslims as well as other denominations both Christian and non-Christian. This wise Polish Pontiff realizes every soul on this earth is God's child, formed in His Own image and likeness, and extends that respect to everyone the world over. That is another reason this man, not only one of the greatest and holiest Vicars of Christ ever, but the most trusted man of the twentieth century, is so beloved throughout the world. In other words, when the Pope speaks, people listen. The exception is sadly those within the Catholic Church who think they have a better idea - the modernists who nauseatingly persist in their errors of trying to change the Church the Son of God founded. But they too need to come to grips with reconciling and embrace the teachings of the Church in the truest sense.
To accomplish this, to bring the prodigal sons back, we need to be mindful of Christ's words in Luke 17: 3, "Take heed to yourselfs. If thy brother sin, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if seven times a day he sin against thee, and seven times in the day turn back to thee, saying, 'I repent,' forgive him." Considering our own humanity and emotions, that is not an easy mandate to follow. But through the grace of God and the Church's help through the World Day of Reconciliation on March 12th, we can better return to the straight and narrow and be accompanied by millions of our brothers "who were lost, and now are found." Jesus established the Sacrament of Reconciliation for this purpose as Sunday's Gospel affirms, "But that you may know the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins" (Mark 2: 10). He empowered His Church to do so in Matthew 16: 19, "...and whatever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven, and whatever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in Heaven." Through the establishment of the Sacrament of Penance, we are better able to suppress our pride and practice humility. This necessary dose of being humble and dependant on God is vital for us all to follow the straight path, guided by God's Own chosen straight-on leader - His Holiness John Paul II. What it all comes down to is that for all to go straight, only Jesus, through His Church, provides the Straight Story!
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February 18-20, 2000 volume 11, no. 35 CATHOLIC PewPOINT
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