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| Martin C. D'Arcy S.J. by: Eman Bonnici |
27th Week in Ordinary Time
TUESDAY
TUESDAY
First Reading
2 Kings 18:17-36
Responsory
Ps 20:7-8; 121:2
Some put their trust in chariots or
horses, but our trust is in the name of the Lord. + They will collapse and
fall, but we shall rise and stand firm.
V. My help shall come from the Lord, the
creator of heaven and earth. + They will collapse ...
Second Reading
From The Sense of History by Martin
D'Arcy, pp. 133-134
D'Arcy, Martin Cyril (1888-1976) A Jesuit who was one of the
most influential English Catholics of his age, his homilies and lectures, no
less than his writing, inspired, strengthened and deepened the faith of many.
He lectured in philosophy both at Oxford, where he was master of Campion Hall,
and in the United States. His books include The Nature of Belief, The Meeting
of Love and Knowledge, and Facing God.
The clearest example of a pure belief in
providence is to be found in the Jewish religion, which rose steadily and
defiantly above the mists of surrounding beliefs. The Lord is the one, true
God, who created the world and has a purpose for humankind and a mission for
his people. No matter what disasters befell them the Jews returned to this
faith and hope at the instance of their prophets. The Lord is the everlasting
God, who has created the ends of the earth. He shall not faint nor labor,
neither is there any searching out of his wisdom. It is he that gives strength
to the weary, and increased force and might to them that are not ... They that
hope in the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall take wings as eagles;
they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. The gospels
place in the forefront this idea of providence; the teaching of Christ begins
with the declaration of God as the Father who makes life precious by his care
for it, and this assurance is more than ratified by the act of the Son of God,
who shows his surpassing love for us by dying on our behalf.
In the Christian dispensation providence
is looked upon as both universal and particular. As particular it means that
every individual is cared for by God, even to the hairs of his head, or as
Saint Paul describes it, that all things cooperate for the good of those that
love God. As universal, it means that though history is made by the cooperation
and clash of human wills, God works in and through it, so that his purposes are
fulfilled. This is the idea of providence which has prevailed in the West and
wherever Christianity has penetrated, and it lies behind the attempts of
various Christian thinkers in the past to sketch a providential view of
history. Christians from time immemorial have their own personal needs. Such
prayers pervade the liturgy, of which one example is the collect asking that
"God, by whose never-failing providence the world is ordered," may
"remove from our path all hurtful things, and give us all that will be for
our good." Such prayers are warranted by the Lord's Prayer and by the
belief of Christians that the divine and human meet in a personal relationship.
The language of friendship and love does not, however, lend itself to theory,
especially to a theory of history in which the part of God is to be explained.
The new hope stirred at the beginning by
the Christian message was not due to any theory of history. It was the fact of
the existence of providence which produced a radical change, removing the dark
fears that human life signified nothing. Comfort can come when we are sure that
all is well, even though we have no idea of how the happy ending is to be
brought about.
Responsory Rom 8:28;
Jdt 9:5
We know that by turning everything to
their good + God cooperates with all who love him, with all whom he has called
according to his purpose.
V. All your ways are prepared
beforehand, and your judgments rest on foreknowledge. +God cooperates ...
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