THEY WOULD HAVE REPENTED

Is 7,1-9; Ps 47; Mt 11,20-24
17 JULY
It is enough to read the Prophets to know the Lord’s judgment on these two cities: Tire and Sidon. Here’s how the prophet Ezekiel describes the ruin of Tire by telling in detail its catastrophe. From queen of the seas and indestructible city, it is now a desert.

Thus says the Lord God: Tyre, you said, “I am a ship, perfect in beauty.” In the midst of the sea your builders placed you, perfected your beauty. With cypress from Senir they built for you all of your decks; Cedar from Lebanon they took to make you a mast; From the highest oaks of Bashan they made your oars; Your bridge they made of cypress wood from the coasts of Kittim. Fine embroidered linen from Egypt became your sail (to serve you as a banner). Purple and scarlet from the coasts of Elishah covered your cabin. Citizens of Sidon and Arvad served as your oarsmen; Skilled men of Zemer were in you to be your mariners; The elders and experts of Gebal were in you to caulk your seams. Every ship and sailor on the sea came to you to carry trade. Persia and Lud and Put were in your army as warriors; shield and helmet they hung upon you, increasing your splendour. The men of Arvad were all about your walls, and the Gamadites were in your towers; they hung their bucklers all around on your walls, and made perfect your beauty.

Ships of Tarshish journeyed for you in your merchandising. You were full and heavily laden in the heart of the sea. Through the deep waters your oarsmen brought you home, But the east wind smashed you in the heart of the sea. Your wealth, your goods, your wares, your sailors, and your crew, (the caulkers of your seams, those who traded for your goods, all your warriors who were in you, and all the great crowd within you) Sank into the heart of the sea on the day of your shipwreck. Hearing the shouts of your mariners, the shores begin to quake. Down from their ships come all who ply the oar; The sailors, all the mariners of the sea, stand on the shore, Making their voice heard on your behalf, shouting bitter cries, Strewing dust on their heads, rolling in the ashes. For you they shave their heads and put on sackcloth, For you they weep in anguish, with bitter lament. In their mourning they utter a lament over you; thus they wail over you: Who was ever destroyed like Tyre in the midst of the sea? With your goods which you drew from the seas you filled many peoples; With your great wealth and merchandise you enriched the kings of the earth. Now you are wrecked in the sea, in the watery depths; Your wares and all your crew have gone down with you. All who dwell on the coastlands are aghast over you, Their kings are terrified, their faces convulsed. The traders among the peoples now hiss at you; You have become a horror, and you shall be no more (Ez 27,3-11.25-36).

The principle on which the eternal judgment of the Lord is founded is in relation to the graces, gifts, charismas and donation of divine goods. Jesus did not just preach the Word, He performed many miracles. He has attested that he is truly from the Father. But Corazìn and Bethsaida did not get converted. In Tire and Sidon the Lord did not even send a prophet just as he did for Nineveh. The more God’s gifts are and the more the judgment will be heavy. A country with a parish priest will be treated harder than one without a parish priest. This is also true of a city with a bishop or even with the Pope. The bigger the graces, the harder the judgment will be. The higher the ministry, the more rigorous the judgment is.

Then he began to reproach the towns where most of his mighty deeds had been done, since they had not repented. “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would long ago have repented in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. And as for you, Capernaum: ‘Will you be exalted to heaven? You will go down to the netherworld.’ For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.”

A parish priest is the greatest gift that God can give to souls. He is a source of grace and truth. Not drawing from this source the light, truth and grace that help us for a true conversion and sanctification is a matter of judgment. The responsibility is great.

Wise Virgin, Angels and Saints help us not to waste any grace of the Lord.