Ezekiel brings forth the message of the Lord in our first reading this morning, telling us that the Lord does not delight when a wicked man stays in his wickedness and earns punishment, but rather, the Lord delights when the wicked man turns from his evil ways and changes of heart. We have many in our world today who turn their backs on the law of God and the law of man, who want to stay on the evil path and who do not want to hear the Lord's voice calling out to them. Some may make the excuse that the law of God and the law of man are unfair, but what about the way that we break those laws, the way we give into temptation and give into our evil ways?
I remember when a prisoner was once lamenting his prison sentence to me, stating that God was punishing him unjustly, that it was all God’s fault that he was in prison. I knew that this young man had been in a gang, that had been involved in alcohol, drugs, violence, and crime. I told him that he needed to take responsibility for what he had done, that he was paying for the crimes he had committed, that he couldn’t blame God for this, that he was not an innocent by-stander to his crimes. This prisoner was very angry with me and just walked away, not wanting to hear this, not wanting to take responsibility. We are called to be open to looking at the truth and to being honest with ourselves; perhaps that is why so many won’t turn from their wicked ways, because it not easy at all.
We celebrate a great Lenten saint today: St Katherine Drexel. Born in the middle of the 19th century, she grew up in great privilege and wealth. However, her father was a deeply devoted religious man who spent a great time in prayer and her mother was very generous to reaching out to the poor. Katherine was called by God to serve the poor and the oppressed in the United States, especially those of native and African origin, which she did through the religious order she founded, the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament. She founded more than 50 Catholic missions for native Americans across 16 states. She also founded Xavier University in New Orleans, a historically African American Catholic University. When I was a member of Sacred Heart parish in Greenville, the site of the first seminary in the US that accepted African American men as seminarians, I was told that the 10 acres of land on which Sacred Heart is located was purchased with money donated by Katherine Drexel. Katherine Drexel used her material wealth to serve God and his people. Her legacy is felt today even in our own Diocese today. St Katherine Drexel is certainly a great example of faith for all of us.
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