Are you GUILTY of the failure to love?
I am. You are. We are guilty.
The homily this morning struck me as a reminder to act, to help and to share. Sinning, simply put by Fr. JBoy (as captured by Fr. Keenan, SJ) is one’s “failure to bother to love.” It isn’t just about committing idolatry, murder, adultery, and other grave sins (we’ve known since we were young) which many attribute to their weakness. Sinning comes from and is about our strengths: “the strength of our will, the existence of our freedom, the authority of our conscience, and the power of our gifts.” We sin when we are capable of doing something good but we deliberately omit, “leave out, pass over, neglect and exclude” doing good to help.
Perhaps, I thought to myself: as a mom with a 24/7 work duty to be my family’s caregiver, daily planner-organizer, home keeper, on call nurse and life coach without any pay at all; I shouldn’t be guilty anymore. I think I am more than bothered, I am sacrificing a lot for the sake of loving and serving my family.
But, I am still guilty. Yes, complacency is deemed a sin. Yes, I am self-satisfied and content that I have played my role well as mom to Aon and Aei but I can still do more to help others in need, I just haven’t. I haven’t really helped the kids in the streets, the hungry in the slums, the victims of calamities and violence, the sick and lonely. I have occasionally donated used clothes and books and unwanted stuff which others may still find useful after a devastating storm or a fire but that’s all and that’s it. I do not have much money nor goods for the poor, sick and homeless but I think I can still care for others and remove my guilt as I progress in my new journey: by being an effective trainer, by being a fair employer, by being a concerned citizen and an involved member of my community… by being more than a mom to two.