Wednesday, October 7, 2009

In the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius there is a meditation on the Incarnation in which we are invited to imagine the Blessed Trinity looking out over creation: "They look down upon the whole surface of the earth, and behold all nations in great blindness, going down to death and descending into hell." Out of love for humanity, the Blessed Trinity decides "Let us work the redemption of the human race."

This work of redemption in which God's mercy has touched human history from the beginning, reaching its climax on a cross on Calvary is what Jonah at first rejected. As he moped and stewed over how God had saved his enemies in Nineveh, God told him: "should I not be concerned over Nineveh, the great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot distinguish their right hand from their left...?" God sees how clueless and blind we are and does not reject us. As Jesus was stretched dying on the cross, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity even made excuses for those who were torturing and killing Him, praying, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do."

Unfortunately, today many billions of people are blind, not able to "distinguish their right hand from their left," not able to discern right from wrong, even calling what is good evil and what is evil good.

We, the Body of Christ, have the light of the world that can enlighten all. With Jesus we pray and offer ourselves for the salvation of the world. Our prayer is summed up in the very prayer Jesus taught us. We call God "Our Father," recognizing that He is the loving Father of all humanity. We pray that His Kingdom of justice and peace, of love and mercy, may be established in our hearts and in the hearts of all. We ask for the food, both material and spiritual, that every human needs. And we ask that we may be forgiven even as we share His mercy with others.

Our Lady of the Rosary, whom we honor today, has given us a weapon to engage the powers of darkness in our world and to pray for its conversion. May we use it often.

By Fr. James Kubicki, S.J.
Apostleship of Prayer