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August 14, 2002
"Arbeit macht Frei" On
"Arbeit macht Frei"
On this memorial of St. Maximilian Kilbe let us not forget the ultimate "works-based" salvation--the salvation offered by humans to one another. That same salvation is what got our dear Savior nailed to the cross. That same salvation is too often what we offer the poor and disenfranchised in society.
Remember also that faith without works is dead, but faith without love is deadly. The Nazi party had enormous faith in Adolf Hitler and his promise of "lebensraum" for the German people. They had enormous faith in the "final solution."
Let us remember that Our Savior left us with the Holy Catholic Church, the Church of the Apostles, to guide us and to teach us. Let us be thankful to Him as we realize that it is not work that makes us free ("Arbeit macht frei" translates loosely to "Work earns freedom" and it was the "Motto" inscribed over the gates to Auschwitz), but the gentle yoke of Jesus Christ. Let us assume the yoke ourselves, harness ourselves to our savior and toil for the salvation of all. Such toil is the ultimate sweetness.
Posted by Steven Riddle at August 14, 2002 7:03 PM