The blessings of Yom Kippur upon our Jewish neighbors!
It may seem unusual for a Catholic cardinal-archbishop to be so mindful of this particular Jewish holy day. And yet the Jewish Day of Atonement has always had a special resonance for me. While I respect the religious observances of all faiths practiced in this great and diverse metropolis, this one, for me, is particularly inspiring.
During my happy years as a young parish priest, I often heard my pastor counsel the couples he was preparing for matrimony. He told them: “The six essential words you must repeat often if your married life is to be faithful, and forever, are ‘I love you,’ and ‘I am sorry.’ ”
Wise advice, and if I understand this moving holy day our Jewish community commences at sundown Tuesday, those are the six words they will profess to the Lord, individually and communally.
We owe the Jews a lot, especially those of us who profess to be Christian. As Thomas Cahill observed in his book “How the Jews Saved Civilization,” before the people of Israel, ancient humanity pictured their gods as ruthless, vindictive, punishing. No use confessing sorrow to them, because mercy wasn’t a characteristic of those strange gods. Sure, you could try to bribe them or buy them off, but forgiveness? Forget about it!
The God of Israel is different. The Hebrew sacred texts tell us that the one true God, who revealed Himself through Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses and the prophets, is all about mercy — “slow to anger and full of forgiveness,” as the psalmist sings. In fact, biblical scholars tell us that merciful is the adjective most used in the inspired texts to describe God.
We usually only say “I’m sorry” to those we love. And those we love are moved by that contrition. There is yet another profound insight from the faith of Israel: God loves us, craves our love in return, is eager to forgive us, if we but ask, and likewise wants us to pardon one another.
The Jewish penitential tradition also teaches us a poignant lesson about responsibility and admitting sins. Once, on New Year’s Eve, a reporter asked Mother (now Saint) Teresa of Calcutta, “If you could change one thing in the world this New Year, what would it be?” Her reply: “myself.”
The recognition that every one of us is a sinner, and that God calls each of us to change, to conversion of heart, is, as my rabbi friends tell me, at the core of this great holy Day of Atonement.
At a time when, more than ever before, people seem ready to ascribe the basest of motives to anyone who dares to disagree with their firmly entrenched positions, how revitalizing it is to stop, look inward and examine our own motives and express contrition when they are less than noble.
In a society that dodges blame, denies guilt, accuses rather than atones, how refreshing to see a community admit sin and ask forgiveness.
In a world dripping with violence, vitriol and vengeance, how consoling to recognize that God passionately, personally and eternally loves us and yearns only for our love in return.
I began with the example of a married couple. Well, God revealed to the Jews that He loves the People of Israel as a husband loves his wife.
The key to that historic marriage are the six magic words to the Lord, repeated often: “I love you! I am sorry!” If we say those words with sincerity, the Lord will respond: “And I loved you first. You are forgiven.”
The streets, synagogues and homes of New York City resound with those six words beginning Tuesday night. This Catholic archbishop sincerely says: “Thanks, Jewish friends! We need you and your witness.”
I wish all of you a grace-filled Day of Atonement.
Timothy Cardinal Dolan is the archbishop of New York. Twitter: @CardinalDolan
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