NOTE: This is a cross-post from my LiveJournal, which has only friends-only and private entries. Comment here or there or email me to be added, though there's never really anything special.

Daniel 13:1-9,15-17,19-30,33-62

Truth Triumphs: The Victory of Virtue over Vice. Wouldn't that make a great title if anyone wanted to turn this tale of Susanna into a movie? The plot develops dramatically as two elders of Israel, driven by lust, ignore God's law and try to violate the virtuous Susanna. Trapped by their cunning plan, Susanna is filled with fear but prefers to be accused of adultery -- an act punishable by death -- rather than to commit sin and live. Then the corrupt men compound their wicked behavior with deceit, lying to protect their reputations. But Susanna turns to God, who inspires Daniel with wisdom and a plan that brings about her deliverance just in the nick of time.

Like Susanna, there are times when we too are faced with the choice between embracing falsehood and holding fast to God's truth. Perhaps we've failed to take responsibility for a mistake by shifting blame elsewhere. Maybe we have distorted the truth to our own advantage by telling a little "white lie." Or perhaps we have felt pressured by public opinion or confused by the misleading ideological currents of the day and compromised our beliefs.

Pope Benedict XVI has insightfully described the current climate as "a dictatorship of relativism that does not recognize anything as definitive and whose ultimate goal consists solely of one's own ego and desires." How crucial it is, then, that we pursue a different goal: "the Son of God, the true man." Benedict continued: "An 'adult' faith is not a faith that follows the trends of fashion and the latest novelty; a mature adult faith is deeply rooted in friendship with Christ."

In a world where truth is considered relative, where "spin" happens all the time, and where shading the facts is a way of life for many, we can still do what Susanna did. When we're firmly rooted in Christ, it's "this friendship that . . . gives us a criterion by which to distinguish the true from the false, and deceit from truth." And it's as we live in truth that we'll be shining witnesses to the world around us.

"Lord Jesus, you are the way, and the truth, and the life. Help me to hold fast to all that is true and honorable so that I can offer you a pure heart and a clean conscience."

Psalm 23:1-6; John 8:1-11

The preceding is from The Word Among Us, which I use as a daily devotional. For those who may not know, Mass is celebrated every day in the Catholic Church, though attendance is only required on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation. Mass begins with a reading from the Old Testament, then one of the Psalms, and on weekdays, we finish with a reading from one of the Gospels or the Acts of the Apostles. (On Sundays, a reading from an epistle precedes the Gospel.) I decided last summer to start reading the Bible every day, so I chose to do so by following along with the Lectionary, the book that contains the specially formatted readings that are proclaimed at Mass. Later in the summer, I stumbled across The Word Among Us and have been reading it every day since then.

Today's readings are wonderful. I've never heard the story of Susanna before, but it's a good one. It says a lot about virtue and truth, as WAU notes. It also reminded me of St. Maria Goretti, who is the patron of my court of the Catholic Daughters of the Americas. (Think the Knights of Columbus for women.) From the Patron Saints Index:

[St. Maria Goretti was a] beautiful, pious farm girl, one of six children of Luigi Goretti and Assunta Carlini. In 1896 the family moved to Ferriere di Conca. Soon after, Maria's father died of malaria, and the family was forced to move onto the Serenelli farm to survive.

In 1902 at age twelve, Maria was attacked by 19-year-old farm-hand Alessandro Serenelli. He tried to rape the girl who fought, yelled that it was a sin, and that he would go to hell. He tried to choke her into submission, then stabbed her fourteen times. She survived in hospital for two days, forgave her attacker, asked God's forgiveness of him, and died holding a crucifix and medal of Our Lady. Counted as a martyr.

While in prison for his crime, Allessandro had a vision of Maria. He saw a garden where a young girl, dressed in white, gathered lilies. She smiled, came near him, and encouraged him to accept an armful of the lilies. As he took them, each lily transformed into a still white flame. Maria then disappeared. This vision of Maria led to Alessandro's conversion, and he later testified at her cause for beatification.

The Gospel also speaks to the virtues of honesty and purity. The woman caught in adultery wasn't exactly virtuous, but Christ pointed out that the scribes and Pharisees had ignored their own sinfulness to try to trick Him using that woman. I don't think Scripture ever speaks again of that same woman, but I'd imagine she changed her life at that moment, going forth to "sin no more."

I copy-paste the meditation to my LJ every day, but I set it to private so as not to spam your f-lists. If you'd like to keep reading these meditations, please go to the WAU site and/or subscribe to the print version. It's a wonderful little magazine.

---