13 January 2018
Saturday of the First Week in Ordinary Time
One of the more endearing Italian customs, which unfortunately has diminished in recent decades, is the tossing of items one no longer wants out the window on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s day. This includes old sofas, tv sets, and kitchen implements that are all cleaned up the next day. Although this form of housecleaning may seem a bit dramatic, there is something wonderfully cathartic about giving something you really do not need the “heave-ho” out the window and hearing it crash. Ignatius of Loyola built his Exercises around the three-stage progression of purgation, illumination, and unification. The first required step is purgation, the removal of those things that keep us from loving God and loving our neighbor. Moving towards God without first removing those things that keep us from God, or at least making it a constant effort makes no sense and so spiritual growth demands housecleaning. If we are seeking Christ, like the wise men, we need to make sure that the star we are following is the correct one and we are not misled by some silly substitute. So our season of Epiphany and New Year’s provides a double inspiration to look at what can be tossed in the trash.