Fyodor Dostoevsky once wrote, “Man adapts to anything, the scoundrel,” and I have found that to be true on numerous levels. In terms of the difficulties we can overcome and the struggles we adapt to, the human spirit is remarkable in its ability to quickly go from a task or situation being unbearable to it being just part of the job. The first time I looked at a finance report after I became pastor, I almost had a panic attack and crumpled into a pile of indecision. Now, I skim them for three minutes before finance meetings start and feel more than prepared to discuss the minutia of where money in the parish is going. That speaks to the indomitability of the human spirit. Less savory is the way we quickly become accustomed to incredible blessings that we should never stop thanking God for, and soon enough take them completely for granted. I do my best to offer prayers of thanksgiving after Mass and after receiving Holy Communion, but I still often find myself rushing off after Mass to the next thing/meeting/crisis. To allow the sacred to seem mundane in our hearts is a true tragedy and one that we must constantly be on guard against.
I was reminded of this phenomenon while reading the Gospel for this weekend because of how implausible Abraham’s reply seems when he tells the rich man that his brothers won’t repent and care for the poor even if they see someone rise from the dead. It is easy to believe that if we had some direct revelation from God, or if we saw a saint appear directly to us to tell us to be better disciples, that surely we would respond and our lives would change and we would become holy. But if we were to meditate on that for a few moments, I think we would come to the realization that eventually we would fall back into our struggles with indifference and selfishness. As members of the Church, we are incorporated into the Mystical Body of Christ. We receive the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus regularly. We have had our sins forgiven, and continue to have the chance to be pardoned of our sins. The Grace of God is constantly available to us. There are no more feasible excuses. Abraham is right, and even if the rich man’s brothers were witnesses of the Resurrection, they would still be able to slip back into selfishness and indifference towards the poor and suffering around them.
The surest way to protect ourselves from this maddening human reality is to continually form and develop our interior life. Indifference creeps around every corner, but we can stave it off by turning to the Lord with a morning offering every day, examining our consciences as we prepare for sleep, and dedicate time in silence to waiting for the Lord. If our hearts grow cold in the absence of seeing and experiencing God, then we must return to Him day in and day out, at every moment. As we reflect on the Gospel this weekend, my prayer for our family of parishes is that we recommit each day to growing our prayer life and sitting in the presence of God so that we do not fall prey to the same human weakness that separated the rich man from God and prevented him from loving his neighbor. Prayers always, Fr. McC