7 July 2020
Tuesday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
An apparently minor error at the start of a project can have a major consequence at the end. In navigation, for example, a slight miscalibration of an instrument can put the ship off course and may even lead to a shipwreck. The prophet Hosea, in the 8th Century before Christ inveighs against his people for their political and religious projects that were initiated without respect to what God himself had revealed. It might seem like a small thing, but beginning with God and his revelation is essential. If we do not bring ourselves before the God who reveals himself, the God who made heaven and earth, how will we, ourselves, make anything worthwhile? Apart from God, even our most impressive undertakings will end in vanity, like a ship off course and headed for shipwreck. As the prophet puts it: “when they sow the wind, they shall reap the whirlwind” (Hosea 8:7).
In the Spiritual Exercises, St. Ignatius gives guidance for how to begin contemplations. We should start the things that are important to us with prayer. That is why some people say a prayer before meals, or a prayer before a surgery, or a prayer before an athletic contest. If we sincerely invoke the help of God, and ask for his grace at the beginning of a project, then we will not sow not the wind, but the seeds of God’s kingdom. We will not reap the whirlwind, but “fruit that will remain” (John 14:16). “The reaper is already receiving his payment and gathering crops for eternal life” (John 4:36).