MARCH 3-4, 2018
4:30 PM, 7:00 AM, 5:30 PM ORDINARY FORM (ENGLISH) MASSES
A meme is an idea or behavior that spreads from individual to individual within a culture—often with the aim of conveying a particular phenomenon, theme, or meaning represented by the meme. A meme acts as a medium for carrying cultural ideas, symbols, or practices, that can is transmitted from one mind to another through images, writing, speech, gestures, rituals, or other phenomena which can be imitated.
The term “meme” was coined by Richard Dawkins, from the Greek word mimema – meaning something imitated – in order to explain the spread of ideas and cultural phenomenon using evolutionary principals.
Within the internet culture, an “Internet meme” is a concept that spreads rapidly from person to person via the Internet, largely through emails, blogs, forums, or social networking sites.
One of the earliest Internet meme’s was the “FAIL” – F-A-I-L – meme; where photographs or drawings of individuals doing things in a ridiculously incorrect way – such as holding a phone handset upside-down, cars in swimming pools, using liquid paper on a computer screen … among others. This has morphed into a series of Internet memes captioned as “You’re doing it wrong,” which have a similar direction
Today is the Third Sunday in Lent.
Today’s First Reading, taken from the Book of Exodus, is the enumeration of the Ten Commandments. I’m sure you heard it, and you probably know most of them – or at least have a general understanding of what they entail.
In the Second Reading from the First Letter to the Corinthians, in the section preceding the text we heard proclaimed, St. Paul admonishes the Corinthians to be holy – according to the call of God; utilize God’s grace in everything they do; with an eager expectation of Christ’s return; while trusting in God’s faithfulness. He then goes on the point out that we are to be united in Christ, in whose name we are baptized, and who was crucified for our salvation.
That is, for the entire first chapter of First Corinthians, Paul is laying out what could be called “Creed-al” statements – bullet points of what Christians are to believe and how we are to behave.
He does this because the Corinthians were “doing Christianity wrong.”
In what we heard read today, St. Paul gives the solution to fixing those failed attempts at Christianity.
The Greek word translated here as “wisdom” also means “skill, knowledge, or prudence.”
Prudence is one of the virtues that seems to have fallen out of use. We’re all overwhelmed with society’s excessive pre-occupation with tolerance. But perhaps we need to shine a little light on prudence.
Prudence is often called the “Queen of the Virtues.” It is a moral virtue – which means it is an intellectual action that leads to right action.
Prudence requires a person to evaluate, choose, and then finally act – with the ultimate desire of doing the right thing at the right time in the right way.
Imprudent thoughts or ideas lead to imprudent acts – doing the wrong thing, and the wrong time, in the wrong way – or in summary: Doing it wrong. Or in other words: Sin.
Through a well-formed conscience informed by grace, a Christian can know and act appropriately. And this is wisdom.
However, with deep seated habits of mind and heart, we may need Jesus to come in and turn over some tables and drive out the critters and vermin that we’ve picked up over time.
So remember, next time someone asks you “what would Jesus do,” making a whip out of cords, and turning over tables … are among the potential choices.
As we approach this altar to receive the Sacred Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ. Let us pray for the grace to live our lives through, with, and in Christ – who is “the wisdom of God” and “the power of God.”
May Jesus Christ – God’s incarnate Wisdom – be for us the Way, and the Truth, and the Life … leading us to everlasting life.
