A Solidarity and Universality in Knowing We All Fall Short

[Note: Today’s guest blogger is our very own associate pastor, Rev. Celie Katovitch. Rev. Celie has continued to enrich the Spiritus community with so many powerful reflections and homiles and her gentle presence is such a gift to so many. Thank you, Rev. Celie for this contribution]

We might hear the first reading and the Psalm today as “downers”… They are pretty sin-centric, aren’t they? But there’s an importance to our hearing scriptures like these during Lent, and there’s a consolation in them too. For me, the consolation comes from the use of that word “We,” all throughout the Daniel reading, and then in the repeated refrain which we’re meant to speak in unison in the Psalm: “Lord, do not deal with us according to OUR sins.” Not only is there a solidarity and universality in knowing we all fall short—but it also drives home that we miss the mark not as isolated individuals, but collectively, as a people.

In the early church, Lent was very much a time of communal penance, when church members TOGETHER undertook specific practices of intensive prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, as a way to repair any relationships in the community that had been breached. I really like this idea. I wonder what it would mean for us today, to embrace more shared and collective practices during Lent.

Reconciliation is one of my favorite services of the year. (Shameless plug: ours here at Spiritus is on Monday, March 18th, at 7PM. Roxanne Ziegler will be returning with her beautiful meditations on the harp, to accompany this gentle and healing sacrament where we remember God’s love and unconditional forgiveness in a really tangible way.) Last year, as part of this service, we sang a chant (written for the Jewish High Holy Days by the Unitarian minister Rob Eller-Isaacs) that reminds us of the power of forgiving each other in community. You can listen to it here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kplr4KjETRQ).

The Catholic peace organization Pax Christi calls attention to the social dimensions of sin and forgiveness, in their litany for use in Reconciliation liturgies:

For wanting too much

For wounding the earth

For neglecting the poor

For trusting in weapons

All: “Forgive us, we pray.”

For desiring dominance

For wanting to win

For failing to negotiate

For ignoring racial injustice

For exporting arms

All: “Forgive us, we pray.”

I also appreciate this examination of conscience, from All Saints Parish in Syracuse (my parish when I am visiting my hometown). Its areas of self-examination are drawn from the best of Catholic social teaching, and are all societal – rather than totally individualized – in nature. I offer it here in case you might like to take some time with it in quiet meditation, as I do every Lenten season.

I pray that these weeks may be a time when, rather than piling individual guilt upon ourselves, we rather acknowledge that we are all in this together. May we remember our shared human condition, and our shared responsibility to the marginalized and to the earth. In togetherness, we fall short; in togetherness, we can transform society.

EXAMINATION OF CONSCIENCE, ALL SAINTS PARISH – SYRACUSE

Each person is SACRED, made in God’s image & equal in  dignity.

What false “gods” do I place above God and people? After leaving Mass, do I continue to glorify God by the actions in my life?

Do I respect the life & dignity of every human person  whatever their race, nationality, class, age, sexual orientation, or abilities?  Do I act to protect the dignity of others when it is being threatened & to ensure very human being is able to live in dignity?

Each person is SOCIAL called to participate in family & community relationship.

How have I failed to love others in my family, workplace, or community? Do my attitudes & interactions empower or disempower others?

Do I engage in behavior that is self-indulgent at the expense of others & harmful to my ability to share my gifts?

All people have Rights & Responsibilities, the right to life & its necessities, the responsibility to respect the rights of others & work for the common good.

Do I recognize & respect the economic, social, political, & cultural rights of others? Do I live in material comfort & even excess while remaining insensitive to the needs of others whose needs are unfulfilled?

Have I responded to the needs of the poor & those whose rights are unfulfilled? Am I aware of problems facing my local community & involved in efforts to find solutions?

We put care for the POOR & VULNERABLE before all else.

Do I give special attention to the needs of the poor & vulnerable in my community & in the world?

Do I engage in service & advocacy work where I am able, utilizing my resources & privilege to protect the dignity of poor & vulnerable persons?

As a form of participating in God’s ongoing Creation, Work has Dignity & Workers have Rights:

As a worker or student, do I apply myself responsibly & fairly to the work required of me? As an employer or teacher, do I treat my employees or students fairly & with respect?

Do I support the rights of all workers to adequate wages, health insurance, vacation & sick leave? Do my purchasing choices take into account the persons involved in the production of what I buy & the conditions in which they work?

We are called to Solidarity: we are our brothers’ & sisters’ keepers.

Do my personal, economic, and public choices reflect a genuine concern for others and the common good? Does the way I spend my time reflect a genuine concern for others?

Am I attentive to both my local neighbors as well as those across the globe, seeing all members of the human family as my brothers and sisters?

We Care for God’s Creation

Do I live out my responsibility to care for God’s creation & see my care for creation as connected to my concern for poor persons, who are most at risk from environmental problems?

How do I protect and care for God’s creation? Are there ways I could reduce consumption & act to better conserve the earth’s resources for future generations?