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| Mulberry Tree, 1889 (oil on canvas), Gogh, Vincent van (185390) Norton Simon Collection, Pasadena, CA, USA The Bridgeman Art Library |
Be Uprooted
Piety
Love justice, you who judge the earth; think of the Lord in
goodness, and seek him in integrity of heart; Because he is found by those who
test him not, and he manifests himself to those who do not disbelieve him. For
the Spirit of the Lord fills the world, is all-embracing, and knows what man
says. Wisdom 1:1-2,7
And the Apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith." The
Lord replied, "If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you would say
to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey
you." Luke 17:6
Study
Paradoxically, as America embraces Veterans Day – a tribute to those in
service through the military – the Church remembers a famous conscientious
objector. (It makes me wonder if someone in the Magisterium has a tremendous
sense of irony or if it is just a cosmic coincidence?)
St. Martin of Tours was the son of a veteran forced at the age of 15 to
serve in the army. Martin became a Christian catechumen. At 18, after baptism, he began to live more
like a monk than a soldier. At 23, he refused a war bonus and told his
commander: “I have served you as a soldier; now let me serve Christ. Give the
bounty to those who are going to fight. But I am a soldier of Christ, and it is
not lawful for me to fight.” [i]
After getting his military discharge, Martin became a disciple of
Hilary of Poitiers.
Action
Martin’s refusal to cooperate in war-making reminds us that almost
nothing is either all black or all white. The saints are not creatures of
another world: They face the same perplexing decisions that we do. Any decision
of conscience always involves some risk. If we choose to go north, we may never
know what would have happened had we gone east, west, or south. A
hyper-cautious withdrawal from all perplexing situations is not the virtue of
prudence; it is a wrong decision, for “not to decide is to decide.”[ii]
What kinds of choices have you faced?
Sometimes, those choices involve choosing the lesser of “two evils.” St. Anthony of Claret called such moral decisions
discernment. What did you conclude? How did the “spirit of the Lord” that is
the focus of the book of Wisdom guide you?
Did the choices uproot your faith in traditions and take you out of
your “comfort zone?”
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