March 26, 2010
Friday of the Fifth Week of Lent
By Melanie Rigney
I hear the whisperings of many: “Terror on every side! Denounce! let us denounce him!” All those who were my friends are on the watch for any misstep of mine. “Perhaps he will be trapped; then we can prevail, and take our vengeance on him.” But the LORD is with me, like a mighty champion: my persecutors will stumble, they will not triumph. (Jeremiah 20:10-11)
In my distress I called out: LORD! I cried out to my God. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry to him reached his ears. (Psalms 18-7)
The Jews picked up rocks to stone Jesus. Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from my Father. For which of these are you trying to stone me?” The Jews answered him, “We are not stoning you for a good work but for blasphemy. You, a man, are making yourself God.” Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, ‘You are gods’”? If it calls them gods to whom the word of God came, and Scripture cannot be set aside, can you say that the one whom the Father has consecrated and sent into the world blasphemes because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? If I do not perform my Father’s works, do not believe me; but if I perform them, even if you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may realize and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” (John 10:31-38)
Piety
Lord, help me to see that Your yoke truly is far easier than I try to make it.
Study
When I arrived to help out after dinner for the recent Diocese of Arlington Women’s Weekend, most of the work had been done. The cook crew was taking a breather in the dining hall with a bottle of wine and the remains of crème brulee.
“Wine and crème brulee,” a dear friend said with a laugh. “It’s hard to call this palanca.”
But that’s exactly what it was.
In case you’re not familiar with the term, palanca means lever in Spanish. In this context, the meaning is that Cursillistas do service or make sacrifices that with God’s grace empower the accomplishment of things that otherwise could not be accomplished. Sometimes it’s prayer, sometimes it’s notes, sometimes it’s doing or not doing something (like cleaning the closet or forgoing chocolate). It doesn’t have to involve wearing a hair shirt or fasting for days on end.
A handful of people had made a delicious, from-scratch meal that included salad, steak, vegetables, and crème brulee for three dozen candidates and team members, then cleaned up the dining area and kitchen afterward, all in the space of three hours. And, the cook crew was still laughing and joking after the experience. If that’s not palanca, what is?
There’s a bit of a misunderstanding sometimes in more fundamentalist circles about Catholics and works. Some think that being Catholic means “earning” our way into heaven by recording X number of good deeds or sacrifices. But that’s not what being a Catholic Christian is about. We believe salvation is by grace along, but without works—showing God our thanks for that gift of salvation—faith is unrealized or, worse, dead.
There are some people whom we will never convince by words that that’s what Catholicism is about. But they may learn to accept us if the Lord is visible through our works and the joy and peace with which we do them.
Action
Next week is Holy Week. Engage in a meaningful dialogue with a non-Catholic about the differences and similarities in your faith traditions.
