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Dear Parish Family,
A sect of the Palestinian Judaism known as the Essenes, lived a secluded community life awaiting the coming of the Messiah. In their Manual of Discipline, the rules of which governed and safeguarded the integrity and holiness of the community, one part concerning communal correction, reads as follows: “They shall rebuke one another in truth, humility, and charity. Let no one address his companion with anger, or ill-temper, or obduracy, or with envy prompted by the spirit of wickedness. Let him not hate him but let him rebuke him on the very same day, lest he incur guilt because of him. And furthermore, let no one accuse his companion before the congregation without having first admonished him in the presence of witnesses” (1QS 5:24-6:1). Similar guidelines regarding community discipline are found in the rabbinic writings. Many scholars believe that the procedure outlined in today’s Gospel may have been influenced by these earlier sources. Today’s Gospel passage reflected the early Church’s concern for the spiritual well-being of each of its members and specified that the responsibility for that well-being be shouldered by each believer.
Modern believers tend to think that they have no right or duty to intervene in the private lives of their fellow believers; so they pay no heed to the serious obligation of encouraging an erring brother or sister to give up his or her sinful ways. Others evade the issue saying, “As a sinner, I don’t have the moral courage or the right to correct someone else.” Still others feel that one might infringe on the privacy of another by proposing ways to challenge their wanton lifestyle. But Jesus emphatically affirms that we are our brothers’ keepers, and we have the serious obligation to correct one who has injured us in order to help our neighbors retain their Christian Faith and practice, especially through our model Christian lives. Have we offered advice and encouragement to our friends and neighbors and co-workers when it was needed, and living correction in private where that was possible? Let us admit the fact that a great part of the indifference to religion shown by our young men and women is due to lack of parental control, training and example. If the children of Christian families grow up as practical pagans, it is mainly because the Christian Faith has meant little or nothing to their parents. Many agonize over the direction of the life that their children are taking and yet hesitate to speak their mind or concern.
Four things that can make the spiritual work of mercy of “admonishing the sinner” or fraternal correction effective rather than destructive are supernatural outlook, humility, consideration, and affection. Fraternal correction is only to be given because we are convinced God wants it for the sake of the person we are correcting and those affected by him/her. Our prayer must accompany our encounter of the person. That is what a supernatural outlook enables us to do. Humility is necessary because we are sinners ourselves and fail in many ways. We could just as easily have the same fault, and we certainly have other imperfections. Nevertheless, God wants us to help each other. It is also necessary to be considerate, that is to say what we have to say in the least hurtful way possible but without beating around the bush. It is so easy to humiliate another, and no one likes being corrected. Finally, the correction should be given out of love and concern. The motive for the correction is the true good of the others, not the corrector’s own benefit. That is true affection.
Fr. Tom Kunnel C.O.