Cleanse First the Inside

August 28, 2007

Memorial of Saint Augustine, bishop and doctor of the Church

But as we were judged worthy by God to be entrusted with the gospel, that is how we speak, not as trying to please human beings, but rather God, who judges our hearts. 1 Thessalonians 2:4

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You cleanse the outside of cup and dish, but inside they are full of plunder and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may be clean. Matthew 23:25-26

Piety

(From the Confessions by St. Augustine.)

Late did I love you, Beauty ever ancient and ever new, late did I love you! You were within me and I was outside. I sought you there, and in my ugliness rushed about among the beautiful things you had made. You were within me but I was not with you. Your creatures kept me far from you, though if they were not in you, they would not exist at all. You called and shouted and broke through my deafness. You shone radiantly and dispelled my darkness. You spread your fragrance and I drew breath and kept sighing for you. I tasted and remain hungry and thirty. You touched me and I have been set aflame in your peace.

Study

http://www.usccb.org/nab/082807.shtml

How do we enter through the narrow gate? How do we earn the full reward?

We can not do so if we live our lives inconsistently and at odds with what God calls upon us to do.

St. Augustine lived a wild life as a young man. Although raised as a Catholic, Augustine left the Church much to the despair of his mother – St. Monica. As a youth Augustine lived a wild lifestyle and developed a relationship with a young woman who would be his mistress and would bear him a son. During this period, Augustine was said to utter his famous prayer, “Lord, grant me chastity and continence, just not yet.”

Read more on St. Augustine here.

He converted to Catholicism at age 32 and composed what is considered the first autobiography in western literature – The Confessions. In it he expresses how God must be infused in our very being, in our senses, in our mind and in our hearts, in order for us to be set aflame in God’s peace.

We enter through the narrow gate by living our lives consistently focused upon what is truly important. God does not want us to put off a relationship with him until it is a time of our convenience. Rather, we earn the full reward by making sure our internal and external expressions of our love of God are congruent with our actions toward our brothers and sisters.

Action

For today’s action, I share with you a letter from my good friend and Catholic Worker Art Laffin. Art, whose brother Paul was murdered while working at a shelter in Connecticut, is led by his faith to be a staunch advocate for peace and opponent of the death penalty. Here is Art’s recent letter and suggestion for action:

SAVE THE LIFE OF KENNETH FOSTER!

Abolish the Death Penalty!

Vigil at Supreme Court on Wednesday, August 29, from 4:30 - 6:00 p.m.

Dear Friends,

As a murder victim family member who opposes the death penalty, I'm writing to invite you to join me and other death penalty abolitionists in helping to save the life of Kenneth Foster, who is scheduled to be executed in Texas on Thursday, August 30, at 6:00 p.m.

I also ask you to oppose two other scheduled executions in Texas this week: Daroyce Mosley--August 29, and John Amador--August 29.

Kenneth Foster is innocent of the murder of Michael LaHood. The state of Texas has admitted that Foster did not commit the murder. LaHood was killed by Maurecio Brown, who has already been executed. The murder of LaHood occurred when Brown left the car that Foster was driving and got into an altercation with LaHood. Foster had no prior knowledge that Brown would carry out this killing. But under the state's “Law of Parties” Foster was convicted and sentenced to die. We can not let this happen.

All over Texas people are organizing and demanding that Foster's life be spared and that he be pardoned. Foster is now on a hunger-strike to protest his execution. According to Democracy Now, Foster and another prisoner, John Amador, are refusing all food since Wednesday, August 23. Both men said they will commit to a protest of passive non-participation in their executions. In a statement released on August 22 the men said: “We will not walk to our executions and we will not eat last meals. We will not give this process a humane face.”

What can we do here in the D.C. area? I would like to invite you to a vigil at the Supreme Court on Wednesday, August 29 from 4:30 - 6:00 p.m. to call on the Supreme Court Justices to grant a stay of execution for Kenneth Foster as well as for John Amador. If you cannot come to this vigil, please sign the linked petition to Gov. Perry and the Texas Board of Pardons.

In peace and hope,

Art Laffin