Sunday, February 9, 2025 – The Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time
January 27 was the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the concentration/death camp at Auschwitz. Over the past weeks I have heard reports regarding this anniversary and the pictures of the ruins of this death camp. And frankly, the images of what is left of this holocaust atrocity makes me sick to my stomach. The thought of the men, women, and children being led to their deaths at this and other death camps in Europe is beyond understanding. Another thought regarding this which has made me sick to my stomach is the fact that this criminal act was perpetrated by the country of my origins—Germany.
Now, I am roughly a fifth generation American with my family having its origins in southeast and northwest Germany before coming to America approximately around the 1850s. And by all the information I can gather, there is no family connection with the Nazi movement of about one-hundred years ago. Still, it is hard for me to digest that people from my native Germany could carry-out such genocide.
As I hear and struggle with this, I need to be careful that I do not develop a personal guilt about the holocaust. I was born in 1958, years after World War II ended. Germany is a different place now. I must remember the horrors of the holocaust, and by my own merger efforts, ensure that nothing similar ever takes place again. But I cannot allow myself to take on unnecessary guilt and responsibility for what occurred when I did not yet exist.
This also calls to mind an emotion that many of us have experienced, and that is “Catholic Guilt.” This is the guilt felt by Catholics who committed some offense which could be real or imagined which causes shame. We feel we have dishonored someone and feel an overwhelming sense of being ashamed. We may question our value and worthiness. You may have your own words and experiences of how you describe and have felt Catholic guilt.
We cannot allow Catholic guilt to get the best of us. Yes, we have to recognize our faults and mistakes in the proper context but then move forward with the conviction to act differently in the future. To be paralyzed by guilt prevents us from our call to be strong messengers of the Good News.
If we do or don’t suffer from Catholic guilt, receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation in the upcoming Lenten Season is an excellent opportunity to move on from such feelings. It is a graced experience to receive forgiveness and to hear from another human being that you are forgiven, accepted and encouraged to move on. It is a rite to move you towards being your true self. It is a building block to be more faithful. And if you feel orphan by your sin and failings, you will hear Jesus Christ welcoming you back with open arms.