O Holy Power who forged the Way for us! You
penetrate all in heaven and earth and even down below . . . Holy Power, blow wisdom in my soul and -- with your wisdom -- Joy!
- Julian of Norwich (God's Holy Power penetrating all things . . . even your own life
. . . Can you feel
it?)
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1 COR 15:1-11; PS 118:1B-2, 16AB-17, 28
LK 7:36-50
A certain Pharisee invited Jesus to dine with him,
and he entered the Pharisee’s house and reclined at table.
Now there was a sinful woman in the city
who learned that he was at table in the house of the Pharisee.
Bringing an alabaster flask of ointment,
she stood behind him at his feet weeping
and began to bathe his feet with her tears.
Then she wiped them with her
hair,
kissed them, and anointed them with the ointment.
When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this he said to himself,
“If this man were a prophet,
he would know who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him,
that she is a sinner.”
Jesus said to
him in reply,
“Simon, I have something to say to you.”
“Tell me, teacher,” he said.
“Two people were in debt to a certain creditor;
one owed five hundred days’ wages and the other owed fifty.
Since they were unable to repay the debt, he forgave it for both.
Which of them will love him more?”
Simon said in reply,
“The one, I suppose, whose larger debt was forgiven.”
He said to him, “You have judged rightly.”
Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon,
“Do you see this woman?
When I
entered your house, you did not give me water for my feet,
but she has bathed them with her tears
and wiped them with her hair.
You did not give me a kiss,
but she has not ceased kissing my feet since the time I entered.
You did not anoint my head with oil,
but she anointed my feet with ointment.
So I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven;
hence, she has shown great love.
But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.”
He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
The others at table said to themselves,
“Who is this who even forgives sins?”
But he said to the woman,
“Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
Reflection on the Scriptures
As Jesus eats in the house of Simon, we are given a window view of the action. The host is seated with Jesus; other people are there. An uninvited guest is also present—a woman, who as Simon observes, is a
sinner. At this point we are given another “window” into the mind of the host, Simon. He judges the woman as a sinner; he also judges that Jesus must not be a prophet since a real prophet would keep distance from sinners. I can certainly identify with the host: noticing things about people and making judgments about them. Jesus then addresses Simon
with some words that would be hard to accept. The example Jesus gives does not call for much reflection as the meaning of it is readily apparent. If two debtors are both forgiven, the one with the larger debt will be more grateful and loving toward the one who cancels the debt. Simon readily acknowledges this. Perhaps he is on the way to deeper understanding of the mission of Jesus: mercy, forgiveness, and love. In addition to forgiveness, which Jesus offers freely, there is another important lesson on hospitality. Simon did not offer the hospitality that the woman did: she bathed Jesus feet with her tears and dried them with her hair; she anointed his feet with ointment and kissed his feet. Simon offered none of these. But there is another side to the coin of hospitality, namely that Jesus receives the love and care of the
woman. He also assures her of the forgiveness of her sins. And so, we can see that this loving hospitality goes in both directions. The woman offers Jesus her hospitality; Jesus assures her that she is forgiven and loved by God. Finally, it seems important to note that the example offered by Jesus shows that forgiveness comes first. We are all
sinners, and forgiven by God; we love greatly when we acknowledge that forgiveness of God, and offer hospitality and love to one another as a result. by Matthew Walsh, S.J.
Psychic Energy and Contemplation by James
Arraj From St. John of the Cross and Dr. C. J. Jung, Part III, Chapter 9. Inner Growth Books, 1986. A Psychological Dark Night These comments of St. John on melancholy which played an important role in his formulation of the doctrine of the three signs appear to have been lost sight of by the writers
who formulated the doctrine of acquired contemplation. Perhaps the vocabulary was inadequate to transfer the genuine insights contained under this heading, or spiritual directors were looking for a specific morbid disposition and did not find any signs of it in these recollected people they were guiding. In any event, these comments of St. John can form the basis for developing a fuller psychological explanation of the plight of the people who have arrived at the first two signs and cannot find
in themselves any experience of contemplation. Melancholy in a more general sense can be understood as a lack of conscious energy available to the ego that gives rise to feelings of depression and dead-endedness. St. John in his descriptions of beginners in the spiritual life emphasizes the energy they have to devote themselves to spiritual
activities and the corresponding sense of consolation and fulfillment they feel as a result of them. To use a water analogy of the kind St. John and St. Teresa favored, the beginner is using his bucket, and finding water wherever he drops it. Even though this water is being scooped up by the natural working of the faculties, it is so readily available that it forms a sensible analogate to what takes place in contemplation itself. From a psychological point of view, energy is available to the ego
and it utilizes it to broaden its perspective.
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