"Warning Signs": A Reflection on the First Reading for October 28th: Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

---

Jeremiah 31:7-9

7 For thus says the LORD: "Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob, and raise shouts for the chief of the nations; proclaim, give praise, and say, `The LORD has saved his people, the remnant of Israel.' 8 Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth, among them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her who is in travail, together; a great company, they shall return here.  9 With weeping they shall come, and with consolations I will lead them back, I will make them walk by brooks of water, in a straight path in which they shall not stumble; for I am a father to Israel, and E'phraim is my first-born.

---

“You’ll shoot your eye out!”. Remember how desperately Ralphie wanted an official Red Ryder, carbine action, two-hundred shot range model air rifle in the movie A Christmas Story? And how Mrs. Parker, his mom, assured him it wasn’t safe because he would shoot his eye out with it?

Or how about when the local meteorologists warned about the severity of Hurricane Juan before it occurred? They urged people to be prepared for the potential damage that would ensue, but many chose not to heed their warnings.

In both cases, a stern warning was given that was not well received. Jeremiah was not a popular prophet. He persistently and passionately urged the people to repent and turn to God to avoid punishment, but the people didn’t listen.

In verses 7 to 9, Jeremiah tells the people to repent and they will be saved. He is warning them to turn away from their current sinful way of life because the consequence for disobeying the covenants of Moses will be exile. He was prophesying the fall of Jerusalem, pleading with the people to change their ways.

Just as Jerusalem was a nation in crisis, this reading calls to mind our current crisis in the Catholic Church, specifically its decline. Within our own diocese, we are hearing a similar message that we must turn from our current way of “being church” in order to avoid the decline.

The early church was formed under the presence of the Holy Spirit. Peter and the disciples preached about the Holy Spirit because they were transformed by Him. They maintained their personal relationship with Jesus through the Holy Spirit’s presence. It is the presence of the person of the Holy Spirit that brings life into the church. So I have to wonder, why did the church stop calling on the Holy Spirit? ​

"It is the presence of the person of the Holy Spirit that brings life into the church." 

Tweet

As I was growing up in the church, the Holy Spirit was merely an abstract concept, and didn’t get mentioned much outside of scripture and formal prayers. As a teen, when I was introduced to the person of the Holy Spirit, my personal relationship with God changed—but I still saw the Holy Spirit as separate from church. I am happy to say that now in my adulthood, I have finally experienced how the Holy Spirit can impact my experience of Church.

Some might say our Bishop could be likened to Jeremiah as an unpopular prophet with a message people don’t want to hear or heed. But at the heart of his message, he is calling us to change, because he cares for the well-being of the church; as our shepherd he is caring for his flock. He is trying to save our Catholic church from further decline.

Let us be inspired by Jeremiah’s call to change our current way of living, and repent of our sins. And let us also pray for the presence of the Holy Spirit in the church as our Bishop leads us forward. In doing so, we can anticipate the fruits of His Holy Spirit rather than the fall of the Catholic Church.


Tammy LeBlanc

To listen to Archbishop Mancini speak about the next steps for our diocese, register for the Assembly of the People of God by clicking here.