Some of you may be familiar with the great American Classic, To Kill A Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee in 1960. It was made into a film, starring Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch, a heroic, and noble lawyer who stands up against injustice in a small, southern town. He is assigned to defend Tom Robinson, a black man who is falsely accused of a terrible crime. If you’ve seen the movie or read the book, you know the story has a sad ending when Tom Robinson, the man falsely accused, is found guilty, and is shot to death trying to escape from jail.
A few weeks ago, a great controversy was stirred when it was discovered that Harper Lee had written another novel about Atticus Finch, entitled Go Set A Watchman. She decided not to publish it, and the novel remained unpublished until recently. In this novel, Atticus Finch is not the heroic, moral, and unblemished character of To Kill A Mockingbird. It seems that he is portrayed as a more flawed, and imperfect character. Some people are deeply troubled that someone they saw as a great champion of civil rights would now be portrayed as someone so imperfect. But I think this is more reflective of real life. If we are willing to be honest, we know that all human beings, no matter how good, courageous, and moral, all have some degree of imperfection, and this is certainly true about the great heroes of the Bible. For instance, Moses, Kind David, St. Paul, and St. Peter all had flaws and imperfections. And the same is true about each of us. Perhaps this is why every Sunday at the beginning of every Mass, each of us, no matter how good we are, is invited to ask forgiveness for our sins. We call this the Penitential Rite.
It has often been noted that we Catholics know something about guilt. But, if this is the case, we also know something about forgiveness and mercy. Isn’t it wonderful that Pope Francis recently reminded us in one of his statements that Holy Communion is not a prize for the perfect, but rather it is a healing remedy for the imperfect. This is a comforting thought for all of us, who like Atticus Finch, are deeply loved by God in spite of our flaws and imperfections.