This is a reflection on the Mass readings of the day.
“O stupid Galatians!” There’s a phrase to grab your attention.
In today’s first reading, St. Paul is frustrated with the Galatian community, who seem to have fled the saving path of faith for the apparent security of following Christianity legalistically, like some sort of rule book. As often is the case, here we see fear, and the consequent quest for false securities, as the enemy of the Christian life.
In Paul’s frustration, we see reflected God’s own frustration with human obstinacy and its close relative, clouded understanding, as articulated in Isaiah and referenced by Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew: “Gross is the heart of this people, they will hardly hear with their ears, they have closed their eyes, lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and be converted, and I heal them.” (Mt. 13:15; cf. Is. 6:10)
The darkening of the human intellect–our inability to hold onto an understanding of basic concepts, particularly regarding God, and perhaps more poignantly, our inability to sustain a common-sense hierarchy of values–is a direct effect of original sin. If we are honest, St. Paul’s railing against the Galatians could easily be directed at any one of us.
How often we struggle to make prudential decisions, about which we have an uneasy sense that the answer is obvious, sitting there right in front of us–but we cannot grasp it.
A good example of where we see a darkening of the intellect is the political sphere. On an ongoing basis, we observe that good people confuse priorities and express stupid judgements about what should be prioritized in their voting. And, as much as we might like to, can we cannot universally attribute this phenomenon to pure evil in their hearts. As the philosophical principle known as Hanlon’s razor wisely states, “Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.”
How are we to escape this state of affairs, both for ourselves and for our fellow humans?
The answer: Ask.
To our darkened minds, the truth–especially the deeper truth about the meaning of our lives, and the priorities that should stem from that–is like a locked door. We have a set of keys, and many seem to fit the lock, maybe even slide into it, but prove not quite the right shape to unlock it: An elevated IQ, philosophical effort, appeals to “common sense.” Many of the most intelligent people, exerting a great philosophical effort, have made grand and laughable mistakes about life’s most important questions. Many of those who appeal to “common sense” display massive, critical blind spots that everyone seems able to perceive except they themselves.
But in today’s Gospel passage, Jesus gives us the answer: “Knock, and the door will be opened to you.” As much as we may chafe at the reality, God is the owner and keeper of the deeper truths, and our minds simply cannot access them adequately and without risk of gross error, without His help.
But thankfully, Jesus tells us, “If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?” And indeed, it is precisely the Holy Spirit who is the key to unlocking the door to enlightenment regarding important truths.
The gifts of the Holy Spirit cited by the Church are wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. Note in that list wisdom, understanding, counsel, and knowledge–each of which bears on the enlightenment of the intellect.
It is OK to recognize our darkened intellect, and we need not burden ourselves with the responsibility of illuminating it on our own. If we ask God humbly for the Holy Spirit, just as a good Father would not hand his son “a scorpion when he asks for an egg,” our prayer will not go unheard. Let’s remember to ask for the same gift for others as well, and in fact for all our fellow countrymen, so that we might as a nation be led along an enlightened path–one which favors as many reaching eternal happiness as possible.
Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Ask Jesus simply and humbly for the gift of the Holy Spirit, to enlighten your understanding, for your sake and for the sake of those you love. Speak with Him about the key priorities that even good people don’t seem able to grasp, and ask Him for their enlightenment, out of love for their welfare as opposed to any false sense of superiority.
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