Wednesday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time
Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law.”
To thousands of people gathered together in Milan, the Holy Father said the following: “The Ten Commandments are a gift from God. The word ‘commandment’ isn’t fashionable. To today’s persons, it recalls something negative, someone’s will that imposes limits that places obstacles to our lives. Unfortunately history, even recent history, is marked by tyranny, ideologies, mindsets that have been imposed and oppressive, that haven’t sought the good of humanity but rather power, success, and profit.”
This morning, I wrote these words down on a piece of paper: “God’s Commandments = Personal Human Freedom?” “God’s Commandments = A Gift?” Yes, believe it or not. It’s true! It’s so true. How interesting. For keeping God’s Commandments prohibit people from using us or taking advantage of us. Think about it.
“Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” What exactly does that mean? It means that people like Obama, Bush, Caeser, Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, our boss, our banks, our career, etc. really cannot demand from us our life, our heart, our soul or our mind. They can’t! God does not permit them to play mind games with us; to toy with us; or demand that we bow down to them. Sorry folks, but we’re off limits and you’re way out of your mind!
“Thou shalt keep holy the Sabbath.” They can’t even force us to come into work whenever they want us to.
“Thou shalt not steal, lie or commit adultery.” God’s Commandments even prohibit people from buying us, selling us, manipulating us, or using us. Read the Commandments and see for yourself.
So who is lying to us, using us, and/or cheating us? Oh my goodness. So many! And we have blindly allowed it to happen, for what we consider to be “personal choices” are but masterly disguised dead ends. Here are two examples of this.
“I chose to have my abortion.” You chose nothing of the kind! You fell victim to pressure and to selfishness, and most likely your boyfriend or parents or friends or fears or ambitions cornered you and forced it upon you. All you did was sign on the dotted line that was pointed out to you.
The Commandments prohibit us from being used. They also prohibit us from being selfish, for selfishness can leave someone very lonely.
“I chose to appear in Playboy (or Playgirl).” Some people claim that Playboy is not pornography but art. Of course this is wishful thinking; that is, they wish to believe that women chose to appear in it. They chose nothing of the kind. Women don’t choose to appear in Playboy. They are forced into it.
Playboy would love to have Selena Gomez pose for them, but she doesn’t feel forced; not yet, at least. She hasn’t hit the twilight of her career just yet. But when she does, then who knows what she will feel compelled to do. It will all depend on her economic situation and her faltering ego.
No one who is someone launches their career with Playboy; they end it. No one goes out with a bang posing for Playboy; they go out with a few extra bucks (and bucks that are desperately needed). Only the “nobodies” start off with them. After all, they have “something” to gain. And while Playboy does a masterful job in creating the illusion that “nobody” was exactly what they were looking for, what they truly found was a good excuse for not getting the big names they were always looking for.
Don’t even think about it guys! The Commandments prohibit people from using others, manipulating them and selling them to others.
But in reality, what God’s Commandments actually do is liberate us from all evil.
May your healing work, O Lord, free us, we pray, from doing evil and lead us to what is right. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Father, you often say that God is full of surprises. Well, yesterday as I was driving to work, I was extremely upset about something. The details don't matter but suffice it to say, I was afraid and emotional. Suddenly, there was a van in front of me with a large rosary decal (with a silhouette of our Blessed Mother in the middle) on the back window. I have seen smaller versions of the decal, but this one was over sized and practically staring me in the face. I immediately said a decade of the Rosary. As I finished, another van was in front of me with this license plate: BECALM1. God is so gracious and merciful! Please keep preaching with vigor; we need more priests who will shake us out of our stupor.
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