the laws of God are precious - 16th week friday 2013

Today in our first reading we read the ten commandments.  These commandments are very short and yet they can be expanded to mean and imply a lot of things.  It came to be written in stone but they expressed what is already written first in our hearts.  Thus it is called the natural law for everyone of us, believer or not, Christian or pagan, sophisticated or primitive, take these as laws to be followed.  We don’t have to be told that taking what is not ours is wrong, we don’t have to be taught that we should honor father and mother.  These are already written in our hearts.  In fact in the book of Deuteronomy Moses would tell the people that these things are already written in our hearts, that all we have to do is to carry them out.

Many of us are allergic to laws and rules.  We feel they stifle our freedom to do what we want.  We feel they are burdens that impose on us a heavy load.  And yet scriptures would often extol the laws of God – it is a refreshment to the soul, it is wisdom to a simple person and they are more precious than gold, than a heap of purest gold.  They are because these rules define us, These remind us that we are human beings, they remind us of our dignity, about who we are before God and before men and women. Agere squitur esse - our action flows from our being.  Our laws speak of who we are, about our dignity as a human being
Today we ask ourselves - What is our attitude to laws and rules?  Are they burdens or do they help you to be conscious of the great dignity that is ours?

Today let us thank the Lord for his laws and pray that our hearts may become rich soil that will allow his word to grow to maturity.  Today too let us ask the parents of Mary, Joaquim and Anne, both of whom are faithful Israelites, let us ask them to help us become good observers and followers of the law.