3 August 2021 - anniversary of the death of Flannery O’Connor - Tuesday of the 18th week in Ordinary Time - Numbers 12:1-13

      When we had been hearing readings from Exodus these past few weeks, we had heard about the people of Israel complaining about Moses and his leadership, as they longed for their days back in Egypt, seemingly remembering the good but not remembering the bad.  Today, even Moses’ brother and sister complain about him.  It seems the this comes out of jealousy, as they seem to ask why God speaks only through Moses and not through them.  One other thing stood out to me in today’s first reading: the phrase that “Moses himself was by far the meekest man on the face of the earth.” I knew that Moses was not a natural public speaker and that he got nervous, but I don’t think I would have described him as “by fare the meekest man on the face of the earth,” since he also seemed very bold and courageous.   

     I think a lot of us can feel out of place or criticized at different times in our lives for different reasons.  Today is the anniversary of the death of Flannery O’Connor - she passed away on August 3, 1964 at only 39 years old.  She was afflicted with the disease lupus for many years, which I am sure made her feel out of place in society in many ways.  Having spent most of her life in Georgia, O’Connor became a significant voice in American fiction, especially the short story.  After her death, her published compiled short stories won the National Book Award for Fiction in 1972.   Her work is strongly informed by her Roman Catholic faith, with the morality and ethics often common themes, but it is often described as American Southern Gothic in style.  Although her illness confined to a sheltered existence, she had an extraordinary knowledge of human behavior.  Like us here in Mississippi, where our Catholic faith is lived in the context of the Bible belt of the Protestant South, O’Connor studied Catholic theology and lectured on faith and literature, traveling extensively despite her health problems.  Her works have a very strong voice and do not stray away from topics that a difficult to cover, which has made her a favorite target of those who are trying to silence her voice in the name of political correctness.  I for one am proud to share my faith with Flannery O’Connor and to defend her against critics who shun her.  Above all, I love writers whose works help me to critically think and to see the world in a different way; Flannery O’Connor is one of those writers.