Daily Retreat 04/03/06

2006 Apr 3 Mon: Lenten Weekday

Dn 13: 1-9. 15-17. 19-30. 33-62 or 13: 41c-62/ Ps 22(23): 1-3a. 3b-4. 5. 6/ Jn 8: 1-11

From today’s readings: "The whole assembly cried aloud, blessing God who saves those who hope in Him.... The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.... Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her...."

Suppressed Consciences

The first reading from the Book of Daniel is, aside from the Gospel narratives of the Passion, the longest text in the lectionary! The intriguing story of Susanna offers many points of reflection: Daniel’s brave initiative in standing alone against the evil of the day, Susanna’s unshakeable trust in God and her heroic refusal to commit a sin, even while under duress. But, allow me to concentrate, for a moment, on the "bad guys," those wicked elders who coveted Susanna’s beauty, then lied under oath in testifying against her, thus securing her sentence of execution when she refused to cooperate with their immorality.

"They suppressed their consciences; they would not allow their eyes to look to heaven, and did not keep in mind just judgments." Sacred Scripture states explicitly how such evil came about - it was a clear matter of suppressed, or dulled consciences. When even a good person deliberately ignores or shuts up the voice of conscience, horrible and habitual sins are bound to follow.

One of the whole purposes for the season of Lent is to "tune up" our consciences. First of all, we need to honestly examine our conscience, and repent of all the times we have ignored or suppressed that inner voice that’s meant to keep us on the right track. But, that is not enough - we also need to develop our consciences by studying scripture and all the moral teaching of the Church, so that when we’re faced with temptation, whether it be subtle or overt, our conscience can clearly provide guidance for our will to make the right choice!