Corruptio Optimi (Corruption of the Best)

Living between the two poles of corruption and conversion

09/21/2018

Matthew 9:9-13 As Jesus passed by, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post. He said to him, "Follow me." And he got up and followed him. While he was at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat with Jesus and his disciples. The Pharisees saw this and said to his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" He heard this and said, "Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. Go and learn the meaning of the words, I desire mercy, not sacrifice. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners."

There is an ancient adage in Latin that teaches: “corruptio optimi, pessima.” Translated, that means “the corruption of the best is the worst.” In more modern lingo we might say: “The higher they climb, the harder they fall.” It seems every day the evening news serves up new examples of the fall of those who rose to the heights in politics, in corporations, in entertainment.

But the classic example of this colossal collapse from a Christian point of view is the fall of Lucifer, the great angel of light. Revelation 12:7-9 describes the pre-historic war in heaven when Lucifer and one third of his angelic followers were hurled out of heaven by St. Michael the Archangel. According to later tradition, we learn Lucifer was the brightest and more brilliant of all the angels, and his fall from grace created a wide wake of woe that reaches us even today whenever we too are tempted to follow that fallen angel, the devil. To no one else could that Latin adage be applied more aptly than to Lucifer, “corruptio optimi, pessima.” The best becomes the worst.

But this Latin phrase also has a counterpart, its opposite, that is, when corruption is counteracted by conversion. If the corruption of the best is the worst, then the conversion of the worst is the best. Again, from a Christian, biblical perspective, an eminent example of the worst becoming the best occurred on the road to Damascus, and the conversion of Saul the feared Pharisee into Paul the fearless apostle. Think about this remarkable reversal: all the same great gifts of intelligence, zeal, courage and compassion that Pharisee Saul employed to tear down the church brick by brick, St. Paul turned around and used to build up the church stone by living stone. Sadly, the corruption of the best is the worst, but fortunately, the conversion of the worst becomes the best.

On September 21, the Church celebrates the feast of St. Matthew. Matthew was another preeminent example of how the conversion of the worst can become the best. Matthew was a tax-collector and considered the worst kind of Jew because he collaborated with the Roman authorities in levying taxes on his Jewish brothers and sisters. He was a traitor to his countrymen. How often the Pharisees found fault with Jesus, who ate with tax-collectors and prostitutes. Both professions were equally evil in the eyes of the self-righteous Pharisees. But Jesus knows well that while the corruption of the best is the worst – like in the case of Lucifer – he also believes the conversion of the worst is the best – like with Paul and Matthew.

Pope Francis describes the moment in which Jesus looked at St. Matthew and called him at his tax-collector’s post, using a Latin phrase, “miserando atque eligendo.” The pope put that phrase on his papal coat of arms because it captures the core of his papacy. It means Jesus looked with mercy and chose the tax-collector-turned-apostle. The key that unlocks the heart of Matthew is Jesus’ look, a look full of mercy. It is sometimes said “If looks could kill…” and I have shot that look a few times at altar servers at Mass. But looks can also heal hearts and save sinners, especially a loving look from Jesus. Matthew never forgot that memorable and merciful look that Jesus shot him that day at his custom’s post.

Today, our deanery observes a day of prayer and penance. We pray for and about two things happening today in the Church, which I would suggest are summarized by these two Latin phrases. First of all, we are witnessing the corruptio optimi pessima, the corruption of the best is the worst, in the clergy sexual abuse crisis. The corruption of some priests and bishops, even archbishops and cardinals, have become the worst in our church. The abuse of minors by priests was followed up by the cover up of those crimes by bishops. We rightly hold our clergy to high standards, but that also inescapably means that their fall from grace will have devastating consequences. The higher they climb, the harder they fall.

But I believe the second Latin phrase is more powerful than the first and can even reverse its effects, miserando atque eligendo, Jesus looked with mercy and called him. We plead with Jesus to look at us with mercy today, at a church that repents of our sins, seeks forgiveness, and begs for the grace of renewal so we can be his apostles again. We ask Jesus to look at all victims of sexual abuse and heal their broken hearts and their broken lives with his mercy. We pray Jesus looks at the whole world obsessed with money, sex and power – the three ingredients in the cocktail of clergy corruption – and rehabilitate a world that is drunk. It is true that looks can kill, but one look from Jesus can save, and change corruption into conversion.

St. John Vianney, patron saint of diocesan priests, had a holy habit of going into his parish church to pray in front of the Blessed Sacrament. He described his simple but saintly prayer technique saying: “I sit down in front of the Blessed Sacrament, and I look at Jesus, and he looks at me.” It only takes one loving look from the Lord to change us from the worst version of ourselves to the best version of ourselves.  Don’t believe me, just ask St. Matthew.

Praised be Jesus Christ!