Am 8:4-6,9-12
Listen to this, you who crush the needy and reduce the oppressed to nothing, you who say, ‘When will New Moon be over so that we can sell our corn, and Sabbath, so that we can market our wheat? Then, we can make the bushel-measure smaller and the shekel-weight bigger, by fraudulently tampering with the scales. We can buy up the weak for silver and the poor for a pair of sandals, and even get a price for the sweepings of the wheat.’ ‘On that Day- declares the Lord Yahweh- I shall make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight. I shall turn your festivals into mourning and all your singing into lamentation; I shall make you all wear sacking round your waists and have all your heads shaved. I shall make it like the mourning for an only child, and it will end like the bitterest of days. ‘The days are coming- declares the Lord Yahweh- when I shall send a famine on the country, not hunger for food, not thirst for water, but famine for hearing Yahweh’s word. People will stagger from sea to sea, will wander from the north to the east, searching for Yahweh’s word, but will not find it.
With clear words, God confronts his people with their transgressions, whatever they may be. His intention is that men turn away from the ways of perdition, so that they can open themselves to all the blessings and benefits that their Heavenly Father wants to shower upon them. What would happen if people would turn away from their erroneous ways, and the grace and light of God could shine upon them?
The answer to this question on an individual level can be obtained when we see a person who welcomes the grace of conversion. He then turns away from evil, finds the meaning of his life, begins to hunger for true nourishment, for the Word of God and all that is related to Him. He distances himself from his disordered inclinations and seeks to do good. He turns towards the light and the shadows give way. A true journey begins!
Now, what happens with a particular person can also happen with a people or an entire nation.
These days, we are celebrating with the United States. All people who fight for life, especially that of unborn children, are filled with joy over the Supreme Court decision, which struck down a profoundly unjust and evil law that had made abortion a constitutional right throughout the country. Now each state can itself regulate or ban abortion. Early reactions from some states show that they want to stop promoting this crime and legally protect the lives of unborn children.
Let us pause for a moment here, to become aware of what this change means. It is a historic moment! Will many states discard the culture of death and choose the path of life? In other words: Are some political leaders returning at this point to the commandments of God? Are they preventing greater harm from befalling their citizens? Is a ray of God’s light descending on the country and on the hearts of many people? Will a true conversion take place and spread? Will a “separation of the spirits” take place?
It is possible! This decision was made by the Supreme Court last June 24, the day on which the Church celebrated this year the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which is normally the Feast of St. John the Baptist. A sign that love will triumph over all! A sign of hope? Yes, but this “hour of grace” must be welcomed and carried forward.
According to the Traditional Liturgical Calendar, we celebrate today the Solemnity of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ. To Him we entrust the intention that in the world the shedding of the blood of innocent children may cease, and that His atoning death may be welcomed so that we may receive forgiveness even for the gravest sins! One of these is the murder of innocent children, for which all those involved – whether directly or indirectly – need God’s forgiveness.
May the Lord grant the grace of sincere repentance, so that the darkness may depart and more light may shine on earth again!
