by Rev. Herbert Nichols

There was a lot of evil in Joel’s day. There is a lot of evil in our own as well, perhaps the most dangerous being in those who do not believe it; because one will make no attempt to fear or protect oneself from an enemy they do not believe in.

The first reading today might give the implication that God is fed up and ready to end it all. But that is not the case. We must remember the promise of God to Noah. Never again will I destroy the world. Furthermore God sent his own son to save the world; but if the world is to be destroyed, it will be by means of self-destruction, whether it be nuclear, pollution, bacterial or whatever.

That God has made us in his own image, and in his plan to save us from our sinful selves is a mystery. One of the most ancient of heresies, which is still heard now and then, is that there are two gods: one Good and one evil, locked in struggle until one wins.

But the fact is that Jesus has already won, yet the Lord for his own inscrutable purposes still allows evil to harass us so that we will be aware of the value of what Christ has done for us. But ironically, many, all of us at some time, turn away from Jesus and look toward evil as the ultimate victory.

We have talked about being one in the unity of the Body along with St. Vincent de Paul; and being liberated like a bird with eagle’s wings in the mind of St. Francis. But each of us needs to allow grace to develop within us, our own personal image of what it means to be like God or saved by God.