The Unprofitable Servant: White Lies

Monday, February 28, 2011

White Lies

There has been much written in the blogosphere about whether or not it's ok to lie if the motive for lying is to uncover some evil. The case of Lila Rose and her undercover expose on Planned Parenthood most recently comes to mind. I don't really have a problem with this because of the greater good that may be accomplished. For every PP staffer caught in an illegal act, there are many more who get away with that sort of thing all the time.

Truth be told, I've been known to engage in a white one myself here and there. In fact, I told one today so that I could leave work after my honest 8 hours of work had been completed. Since I started my new job 7 weeks ago, I have not put in less than 9 or 10 hours, 5 days a week. I had a bad weekend and I wanted to go to confession. The shrine a few blocks down, thank God, offers confessions Monday thru Saturday, at 11am til Noon and again at 4pm til 5pm. I didn't want to chance getting there late because if there aren't a lot of people around, the priests lock up a little early, so I left work at 3:30 and got there for the start of confessions. We had an extraordinarily busy day, but the entire schedule was wrapped up by the time I left. Still, I felt I had to offer some excuse to my boss, who comes in hours later than I do and forgets that when she's just getting warmed up, it's time for me to go home. I preempted her by sending an email and telling her I had a personal matter to attend to that would require leaving at 3:30.

"I hope everything is ok", she wrote back.

"Yes, I just have something I must do that can't wait until I have a day off".

I'm not sure how you tell someone ""Actually, I screwed up big time and I need to go make things right with the Lord."

Unfortunately, something really stupid set me off last night and caused the old me to make an appearance and say some unkind things. I thought that person was long gone, but with right combination of a headache and a minor crisis, it didn't take long to resurrect the ugliness. Maybe it was God's way of telling me I'm just a little too comfortable with my holiness. Whatever it was, it gave me a well-needed kick in the pants.

I only thank God that I have the sacrament so close to where I live. I have gotten over the scrupulosity of feeling the need to go every few days, but there are still times when even venial sins can weigh us down and it's good to relieve ourselves of the weight they exert on us. I was brief, I was blunt, and I was gone. Not a bad way to cap off a Monday.

7 comments:

Kathy Felsted UsherFebruary 28, 2011 at 5:48 PM
I don't think you lied. It was a personal matter that couldn't wait and you fulfilled your hourly obligation.
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KellyFebruary 28, 2011 at 7:25 PM
Good for you Sister! We still carry that old man around with us, and he(okay, I guess in this case we can say she) surfaces now and again, just to remind us and humble us. But you did right.
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MannyFebruary 28, 2011 at 7:40 PM
Yikes, no one can live in the material world without white lies. If I had to be painted with all the white lies I tell, I would be whiter than vanila ice cream. ;) I'm sure I tell white lies every day, especially at work. White lies make daily living possible without conflict. We would be at each other's throats if we didn't tell them.

Thank God for confession. I should include them in my list of confessible offenses. I guess i will have to from now on.

I have no problem in using lies to catch criminal behavior. Lila Rose is a hero.
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CarolineFebruary 28, 2011 at 7:54 PM
I don't think you lied either...Our humanity is so fragile...but look how quick you were to run to Him..That's true humility.
I'm so glad I somehow fell onto your site.
+PAX
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TLWFebruary 28, 2011 at 8:16 PM
Well, I think my faithful readers need a good laugh, and also, to realize what a fool the author of this blog can be. My behavior was on the brink all weekend, but here is what caused me to go over the edge last night. It's so ridiculous I can't even believe I'm repeating it, but here goes.

I instructed my son, who last bathed in 1492, to get in the shower last night, OR ELSE! I had just washed my hair and had it wrapped in a towel to dry a bit before attempting to "style" it (not something I do very well to begin with) so I took what I needed from the bathroom so my son could decontaminate himself in peace. Then I went down to the dryer to take out my lab coat and other things I needed for work. The dear boy has OCD, and upon seeing my hairbrush, etc. in the hallway, he decided to return them to their rightful place in the bathroom before locking the door to take his shower. Now, while I admire his modesty in wanting to keep intruders out, it's sometimes not practical for him to lock the door, because part of his OCD means that he takes a shower for about 30 minutes. No exaggeration! Anyway, since my hair brush was now locked in the bathroom, I used a roll brush that my oldest daughter left behind when she moved. Let me tell you, this thing was the hair brush from hell. I rolled a lock of hair around it, and then I could not get it to budge. It was STUCK in my hair. I tried for about five minutes to extricate my locks from this thing, and then hysterical, I called Rebecca to come help me. She couldn't do a thing. My husband heard the commotion and came downstairs (after having already fallen asleep) and spent the next two hours trying to free me from this contraption of torture. I had a terrible headache to begin with and had intended to get to bed by 9:30. It was 11:30 before I was finally free. I had Rebecca call Caitlin to see if this had ever happened to her, and she said she had never used the thing, but had picked it up while she was in Peru. I know it was all Rebecca could do not to laugh at me. I could hear Caitlin laughing over the phone. Let me tell you, after two hours of having the hard bristles dig into my scalp, I could only begin to imagine what Our Dear Lord went through with that crown of thorns.

Anyway, when I finally got loose and realized how late it was, I threatened my poor son with all kinds of violence if he ever decided to take my stuff and lock it in the bathroom with him again. To his credit, he said nothing, tho today at dinner, he asked how I could possibly have managed to do such a thing. I asked him why he feels compelled to lock the door when no one had any intention of barging in on him. "Apparently you did" was all he said. Wisenhimer!
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KellyMarch 1, 2011 at 7:06 AM
LOLOLOL! (I can laugh now because it's over). I did get one of those tangled in my hair, some years ago. ouch. But hey-kudos to Jim Roman for getting out of bed to do the hairbrush-ectomy!
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TLWMarch 1, 2011 at 5:17 PM
Yes, Kelly, bless his heart. While he was trying to rescue my hair, I told Rebecca I thought his efforts were a pretty good indication of how much he loves me, especially since his tendonitis was acting up.
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Mary, Queen of Peace

Ever glorious and blessed Mary, Queen of Virgins, Mother of Mercy, hope and comfort of dejected and desolate souls, through that sword of sorrow which pierced thy tender heart whilst thine only Son, Christ Jesus, our Lord, suffered death and ignominy on the cross; through that filial tenderness and pure love He had for thee, grieving in thy grief, whilst from His cross He recommended thee to the care and protection of His beloved disciple, St. John, take pity, I beseech thee, on my poverty and necessities; have compassion on my anxieties and cares; assist and comfort me in all my infirmities and miseries, of every kind whatsoever. Thou art the Mother of Mercies, the sweet comforter and only refuge of the needy and the orphan, of the desolate and afflicted. Cast, therefore, an eye of pity on a miserable, forlorn child of Eve, and hear my prayer; for since, in just punishment of my sins, I find myself encompassed by a multitude of evils, and oppressed with much anguish of spirit, wither can I fly for more secure shelter, O amiable Mother of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, than under the wings of thy maternal protection? Attend, therefore, I beseech thee, with an ear of pity and compassion, to my humble and earnest request. I ask it, through the bowels of mercy of thy dear Son; Through that love and condescension wherewith He embraced our nature, when, in compliance with the divine Will, thou gavest thy consent, and whom, after the expiration of nine months thou didst bring forth from the chaste enclosure of thy womb, to visit the world, and bless it with His presence. I ask it, through that anguish of mind wherewith thy beloved Son, our dear Saviour, was overwhelmed on the Mount of Olives, when He besought His eternal Father to remove from Him, if possible, the bitter chalice of His future passion. I ask it, through the threefold repetition of His prayers in the garden, whence afterwards, with dolorous steps and mournful tears, thou didst accompany Him to the doleful theatre of His death and sufferings. I ask it, through the welts and bruises of His virginal flesh, occasioned by the cords and whips wherewith He was bound and scourged, when stripped of His seamless garment, for which His executioners afterwards cast lots. I ask it, through the scoffs and ignominies by which He was insulted; the false accusations and unjust sentence by which He was condemned to death, and which He bore with heavenly patience. I ask it, through His bitter tears and bloody sweat; His silence and resignation; His sadness and grief of heart. I ask it, through the blood which trickled from His royal and Sacred Head, when struck with the sceptre of a reed and pierced with His crown of thorns. I ask it, through the excruciating torments He suffered, when His hands and feet were fastened with gross nails to the tree of the cross. I ask it, through His vehement thirst, and bitter potion of vinegar and gall. I ask it, through His dereliction on the cross when He exclaimed, "My God! my God! why hast Thou forsaken me?" I ask it, through His mercy extended to the good thief, and through His recommending His precious soul and spirit into the hands of His eternal Father before He expired, saying, "It is consummated." I ask it, through the blood mixed with water, which issued from His Sacred Side when pierced with a lance, and whence a flood of grace and mercy has flowed to us. I ask it, through His immaculate life, bitter passion and ignominious death on the cross, at which nature itself was thrown into convulsions, by the bursting of rocks, rending of the veil of the Temple, the earthquake, and the darkness of the sun and moon. I ask it, through His descent into hell, where He confronted the Saints of the old law with His presence, and led the captivity captive. I ask it, through His glorious victory over death, when He arose again to life on the third day, and through the joy which His appearance for forty days after gave thee, His blessed Mother, His Apostles, and the rest of His Disciples; when in thine and their presence He miraculously ascended into heaven. I ask it, through the grace of the Holy Spirit, infused into the hearts of His Disciples, when He descended upon them in the form of fiery tongues, and by which they were inspired with zeal in the conversion of the world, when they went to preach the gospel. I ask it, through the awful appearance of thy Son, at the last dreadful day, when He shall come to judge the living and the dead, and the world, by fire. I ask it, through the compassion He bore thee in His life, and the unspeakable joy thou didst feel at thine assumption into heaven, where thou art eternally absorbed in the sweet contemplation of His divine perfections. O glorious and ever blessed Virgin! comfort the heart of thy supplicant, by obtaining for me, (Mention your prayer intention here...) And as I am persuaded my Divine Saviour doth honour thee as His beloved Mother, to whom He refuses nothing, because thou asketh nothing contrary to His honour, so let me speedily experience the efficacy of thy powerful intercession, according to the tenderness of thy maternal affection, and His filial loving heart, who mercifully granteth the requests and complieth with the desires of those that love and fear Him. Wherefore, O most blessed Virgin, beside the object of my present petition, and whatever else I may stand in need of, obtain for me also of thy dear Son, our Lord and our God, a lively faith, firm hope, perfect charity, true contrition of heart, unfeigned tears of compunction, sincere confession, condign satisfaction, abstinence from sin, love of God and my neighbour, contempt of the world, patience to suffer affronts and ignominies, nay, even, if necessary, an opprobrious death itself, for love of thy Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ. Obtain likewise for me, O sacred Mother of God, perseverance in good works, performance of good resolutions, mortification of self-will, a pious conversation through life, and, at my last moments, strong and sincere repentance, accompanied by such a lively and attentive presence of mind, as may enable me to receive the last Sacrament of the Church worthily, and die in thy friendship and favour. Lastly, obtain through thy Son, I beseech thee, for the souls of my parents, brethren, relatives and benefactors, both living and dead, life everlasting, from the only Giver of every good and perfect gift, the Lord God Almighty, to Whom be all power now and forever. Amen.

Prayer of St. Bonaventure

Pierce, O most sweet Lord Jesus, my inmost soul with the most joyous and healthful wound of Thy love, and with true, calm and most holy apostolic charity, that my soul may ever languish and melt with entire love and longing for Thee, may yearn for Thee and for thy courts, may long to be dissolved and to be with Thee.
Grant that my soul may hunger after Thee, the Bread of Angels, the refreshment of holy souls, our daily and super substantial bread, having all sweetness and savor and every delightful taste.
May my heart ever hunger after and feed upon Thee, Whom the angels desire to look upon, and may my inmost soul be filled with the sweetness of Thy savor; may it ever thirst for Thee, the fountain of life, the fountain of wisdom and knowledge, the fountain of eternal light, the torrent of pleasure, the fullness of the house of God;
may it ever compass Thee, seek Thee, find Thee, run to Thee, come up to Thee, meditate on Thee, speak of Thee, and do all for the praise and glory of Thy name, with humility and discretion, with love and delight, with ease and affection, with perseverance to the end; and be Thou alone ever my hope, my entire confidence, my riches, my delight, my pleasure, my joy, my rest and tranquility, my peace, my sweetness, my food, my refreshment, my refuge, my help, my wisdom, my portion, my possession, my treasure; in Whom may my mind and my heart be ever fixed and firm and rooted immovably. Amen.

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The Unprofitable Servant

Monday, February 28, 2011

White Lies

7 comments:

Mary, Queen of Peace

St Michael the Archangel

St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi

St. Teresa Benedicta of The Cross