June 27, 2024
My dear Friends,
What is obedience? According to Oxford Languages, it is defined as “compliance with an order, request, or law or submission to another's authority.” And what is grace? The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines it this way: “Grace is favor, the free and undeserved help that God gives us to respond to his call to become children of God, adoptive sons, partakers of the divine nature and eternal life. Grace is a participation in the life of God.” (CCC #1996-1997).
Is it natural to obey or to disobey? It is but natural to obey rather than disobey. We are made in the image of God and Jesus obeyed His Father as the ultimate act of Love; to save man from sin. Therefore, we too are naturally inclined to obey those who have authority over us: our parents, our employers, our superiors, our teachers, all within the bounds of reason and charity. To obey a command in order to bring about a common good is meritorious. A soldier who obeys his commander to engage in a firefight with enemy troops to liberate innocent citizens would be heroic. In contrast, to follow a command that brings about the destruction of a created good is evil. If my boss orders me to deposit company funds to his personal account, I have no obligation to obey his request because it would be considered embezzlement.
When we obey the Ten Commandments, we receive a supernatural grace that gives us the necessary strength to follow them even if it is difficult to do so because it glorifies and pleases God. The grace of obedience is God’s gift so that we can grow closer to Him and eventually join Him in Heaven as long as we are faithful. Today’s culture shuns these Ten Commandments. God is no longer relevant in the lives of modern man. Rather he turns to false gods such as power, prestige, wealth, sex and fame. Almost always, you hear profanity in movies, irreverence for things that are holy and taking God’s name in vain. Sunday is no longer sabbath but a day spent going to sporting events or shopping in the mall. People are no longer bothered with telling white lies because they do not consider it a sin. Bearing false witness against our neighbor by engaging in gossip is a common occurrence nowadays. We see a rise in the divorce rate due to adultery influenced by the proliferation of immorality in movies and cable TV shows. We see family discord because children do not honor their parents or they resent the values that are inculcated at home. The influence of a male figure and head of the household is absent because many families are without a father.
We have become deaf to God’s voice simply because we do not want to hear Him and we do want to listen to Him. The virtue of obedience in today’s culture is at risk. Increasingly we see defiance, violence, anger, resentment, and discord among communities, in schools, promoted primarily by the media and by Hollywood. Simply put, we are in a mess because we do not obey.
If only we cooperate with the grace that God gives us are we then able to follow His commandments and obey the teachings of the Church with courage and fortitude. How then are we able to cooperate with that grace? By receiving the Sacraments, especially the Sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist shall we be disposed to cooperating with that grace and accepting God’s will in our lives. Living out our baptismal promises, living a life of prayer, doing works of mercy and making acts of penance and reparation can assure us of cooperating with grace. Let us imitate Our Lord. Who because He is God, did not need the grace, yet obeyed the Father because He loves Him. Let us obey God’s commandments and His teachings through the Church’s magisterium out of love for Him. Let us turn to Our Lady who did not hesitate to cooperate with the grace of obedience when the angel Gabriel announced that she would become the Mother of God by her fiat: “Let it be done to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38).
Be holy and strive for heaven!
CL