In the Roman lectionary, the reading appointed for today's Mass is Sirach 6:5-17. It speaks of friendship in a very moving way. It contains words of caution, and also words of encouragement. As I read it this morning, I found it to be both useful and beautiful.
A pleasant voice multiplies friends,
and a gracious tongue multiplies courtesies.
Let those that are at peace with you be many,
but let your advisers be one in a thousand.
When you gain a friend, gain him through testing,
and do not trust him hastily.
For there is a friend who is such at his own convenience,
but will not stand by you in your day of trouble.
And there is a friend who changes into an enemy,
and will disclose a quarrel to your disgrace.
And there is a friend who is a table companion,
but will not stand by you in your day of trouble.
In prosperity he will make himself your equal,
and be bold with your servants;
but if you are brought low he will turn against you,
and will hide himself from your presence.
Keep yourself far from your enemies,
and be on guard toward your friends.
A faithful friend is a sturdy shelter:
he that has found one has found a treasure.
There is nothing so precious as a faithful friend,
and no scales can measure his excellence.
A faithful friend is an elixir of life;
and those who fear the Lord will find him.
Whoever fears the Lord directs his friendship aright,
for as he is, so is his neighbor also.
At the time of my conversion, nearly thirty years ago, many friendships changed. Some, whom I considered to be firm friends, no longer spoke to me, nor have they up to this very day. I discovered new friends, however — people whom God placed in my path, and who continue to give me strength and encouragement. With the establishment of the Ordinariates, there are many who will experience great changes in their relationships. This scripture reading might be able to set things in God's context.
No related posts.
Thanks for a great post, Father. I too discovered after my entering the Catholic church that many whom I thought my friends were not. On the other hand, there were those, whose friendships I fear I did not value enough, who turned out to be truer and faster friends than I would ever have guessed them. God is full of surprises, usually with the intent to humble us and therein show us the true nature of His love for us.
Thanks Fr. Phillips for your counsel and advice. For those of us who are Ordinariate bound you and Our Lady of the Atonement are a continuous source of comfort.
Fr. Holland, Christ our Saviour Anglican Church, Denison, Texas
"When you gain a friend, gain him through testing, and do not trust him hastily.
For there is a friend who is such at his own convenience, but will not stand by you in your day of trouble. And there is a friend who changes into an enemy, and will disclose a quarrel to your disgrace. And there is a friend who is a table companion, but will not stand by you in your day of trouble."
My paraphrase of these verses: "You never really know who your true friends are until the heat is turned on." And this certainly is being played out during this time.
Amen, I was there too when I converted. Many of my friends left me, but the really great ones stayed with me. We heard a fantastic homily on this passage and the importance of maintain good friendships today at the Seminary. And one thought that struck me is that I it will be very important with the Ordinariate is the making of friendships between Ordinariate priests and the local diocesan priests. I am so grateful to my friends in the Archdiocese of Denver. I don’t know if I’ll be an Ordinariate priest, but regardless, it will be very important for me to have priestly fraternity with those both in and out of the Ordinariate.
As we enter into new friendships in Canada at the Annunciationtide conference in Toronto we ask friends around the world to keep our hopes and efforts for a Canadian ordinatiate in their prayers.
May I suggest that the daily Angelus prayer which is also the Collect for the Annunciation would be a good way to unite our daily prayers for the March 24 – 26 gathering and for the great mission of God which has been initiated by our Holy Father:
We beseech thee, O Lord, pour Thy grace into our hearts: that as we have known the Incarnation of Thy Son, Jesus Christ, by the message of an Angel; so by His + Cross and Passion we may be brought unto the glory of His Resurrection; through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.