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On Friday evening, our Jewish neighbors begin their High Holy Day, Yom Kippur.
My rabbi friends tell me it is the Day of Atonement, a chance to acknowledge their sins and seek mercy through prayer, fasting and renewal.
What a good example they give us!
Might I propose that not only our Jewish neighbors but all of us need such repentance?
The world sure does; America needs it; you do; and I certainly do.
As a priest for almost 49 years, it bothers me that we Catholics have lost some gusto in this biblically based tradition of admitting our sins and asking for God’s forgiveness.
We used to abstain from meat every Friday, and fast during the 40 days of Lent.
Often would we approach the sacrament of penance for interior cleansing.
These laudable practices have been sadly left by the wayside. It seems all so nostalgic.
This understanding that we needed to repent and reform was not confined to any particular religion: We Americans of all faiths, or no faith, used to proclaim days of repentance as a nation, especially in times of trauma.
During the observance of Yom Kippur, our Jewish brothers and sisters remind us of the high duty of admitting, “I am a sinner.”
They recall how the prophet Nathan confronted even the great King David, after his hideous sin against the brave, loyal and noble Uriah, with a story about an injustice toward a poor man.
When David expressed fury at the culprit in the prophet’s allegory, asking who the louse was, Nathan thundered, “That man is you!”
Before acknowledging the sin in another, or in our nation, or in the world, or in “unjust systems,” we must admit, “I am that man — I am that woman — I am a sinner.”
To point out the sin in another, or in “the system” — global warming, arms sales, the global imbalance of wealth, war, poverty, FOX, CNN, racism — is a snap.
The guilt, the responsibility to reform, is way out there, in a system — not within me.
But to look within and admit, “I am much to blame,” is heroic.
Mother Theresa of Calcutta was asked one Dec. 31 to name what one single thing she hoped could change for the better in the New Year. “Myself!” she replied.
Let me recommend a worthwhile practice known as the “examination of conscience” — another ritual I fear has fallen out of favor.
It was once a regular part of Catholic routine, but it can and should probably be a daily habit for all.
Before going to sleep at night, take a few moments to review your day.
Ask yourself some tough questions:
How did I do today?
Were there ways that I fell short in living the kind of life I should?
Did I do a full day’s work or did I goof off surfing the web instead?
Did I gossip about others?
Was I honest and truthful with the people I met?
Did I take something that wasn’t mine?
Did I treat others with respect and dignity, or did I judge and condemn those who think, look, or act differently than me?
You get the idea.
How powerful it would be to hear even one of our political leaders admit that he or she has made a mistake.
I recall that our colorful Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia once answered a critic of a decision he had made, “You know, when I make a mistake, it’s a beaut!”
If there is one thing we can be sure of, it’s that Jews and Christians hold to a God who is very much into change — darkness to light; chaos into order; evil into good; hate into love; death into life.
He’ll sure change us . . . if we admit we need it.
Bring on Yom Kippur!
Timothy Cardinal Dolan is the archbishop of New York.