Psalm Reflection: The Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time - Cycle C

“The Lord is kind and merciful.” - Psalms 103

“Your tax dollars at work rebuilding California.”

That is what a sign on the side of the freeway said as I drove by it this morning. Right next to that same sign was a pile of broken, mangled road signs, some neglected construction equipment, and a roadside littered with trash. I looked at the scene and immediately noticed the ironic juxtaposition of the sign positioned right next to a scene that looked like a stark example of the opposite.

This is not a criticism of the state or the organization responsible for the sign, only an ironic scene that reminded me of another sad, ironic reality in the Catholic Church today.

It reminds me of a story about G. K. Chesterton, the author of the Father Brown series, and a convert to Catholicism. The story goes that someone once asked him, “what do you think is the biggest problem facing Christianity today?” Without skipping a beat, Chesterton replied, “Christians.”

The Catholic Church is like that traffic sign: it is a sacramental, visible sign of the Church in the world. However, when people draw near to that sign, they are often turned off and turned away by the mess that lies within. It is not the doctrines and the teachings, but the Catholics who fail to live up to them and fail to act with love.

Archbishop Fulton Sheen famously said, “There are not one hundred people in the United States who hate The Catholic Church, but there are millions who hate what they wrongly perceive the Catholic Church to be.” It is abundantly true, but knowing that does not change the fact that many are still being turned away by those who do not accurately represent, embody, and live out the truth of what the Church teaches.

Why do many people leave the Catholic Church today?

Me.

You. 

Catholics.

There are many people who will never become Catholic because of their interactions with uncharitable Catholics who have treated them cold and rigidly instead of with kindness and mercy.

The Psalmist reminds us this Sunday that, “the Lord is kind and merciful.” That is absolutely true, but we are also made in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26-27). We are made in the image and likeness of kindness and mercy. If I use this verse as a litmus test for myself, does it still ring true?:

Matt is kind and merciful.

Am I? Are you?

I fall more and more in love with Jesus every single day through the beautiful truth of the Catholic Church.

At the same time, I get more and more fed up and burnt out each day because of hurtful, hateful, lukewarm, lackluster, hypocritical Catholics. I can often fall into that category myself, and when I do, I get frustrated that I did not represent Christ and His Church better.

Peter tells us in his first letter to the early Church that we must live out and share the faith with others, but we must do so with tact:

“Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope, but do it with gentleness and reverence, keeping your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who defame your good conduct in Christ may themselves be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that be the will of God, than for doing evil.” - 1 Peter 3:15b-17

We can be quick to share our faith, but slow to do it with compassion, tact, and discernment. I have seen so many people driven away from the Church by Catholics who felt the need to speak or lecture them about their lives without taking the time to get to know them and let them know they are infinitely loved by God.

We must keep the words of St. Peter at the forefront of all that we do:

We must be gentle. Not loud, aggressive, hostile, or overbearing.

We must be reverent. Not disrespectful, rude, manipulative, or passive aggressive.

We must see our conscience clear. We cannot fall into sin, anger, sarcasm, or slander.

If more of us represented the beauty of our faith with these qualities, I guarantee that there would be more Catholics in the Church today.

We are not supposed to be comfortable or complacent in our faith, but we cannot be cold or rigid either. We are called to be kind and merciful in all that we do, like the Lord created us to be. We must be willing to tell people the truth and not shy away from it, but to do so at the right time and in the right way: with kindness, mercy, and love.

I am praying for you, please pray for me, and I will see you in the Eucharist.

Matt

This reflection is based on the Responsorial Psalm for this Sunday, February 23rd, 2025, The Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time - Cycle C: Psalms 103:1-2, 3-4, 8, 10, 12-13.