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A Heart in the Hands of God

A former pastor of mine, Fr. Michael Sweeney, O.P. used to say that a Dominican is permitted one heresy per homily, and he had better know which statement it is. As a blogger in a Dominican run parish I fell entitled to toy with a heresy now and then in a blog, and I very much do know where it is.  Bear with me, faithful readers, while I push through this heresy to the truth.

It has come to me, in reflected on the repeated references to faith and love in gospels and epistles what an unresolved dilemma of priority this poses to believers. We are saved by faith. Charity is required of us.

I imagined my dilemma brought to a head  by the appearance of an angel of God posing a question. The angels says you must lose either your faith  or your love and you must choose.  You will be punished in measurement to your choice.  Which do you choose to forfeit?



I would tell the angel that I forfeit faith because I know I would be punished more severely for lack of love than for lack of faith.  And because I know that love, being the greater virtue, may eventually restore my faith, but faith without love is a horrible dark dead end.   And so accordingly I place my heart in God's hands. Pray for me dear reader, that I place the proper priority on things. 

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