By Fr. Paul D. Scalia.

The famous Speaker of the House Tip O'Neil is often credited with the saying, "All politics is local." Now, I'm not particularly interested in the political part of that statement. But I am interested in how it applies to my line of work. You could say that all salvation is local. It happens in particular souls. And you don't get any more local than that.

Our salvation - yours and mine - does not happen out there, in some other place or in someone else's life. It doesn't occur in the media or latest gossip, online or otherwise. It doesn't depend on our knowing the latest political intrigue or celebrity news. It depends on our personal and interior adherence to the Lord.

But we love to be distracted because this reality can be daunting. We fear that God is too close, too personal. Too local. So we distract ourselves by looking elsewhere, to other people, places, and things. But salvation doesn't happen somewhere else. It happens locally, where we are. And we shouldn't choose to be elsewhere.

That's precisely what's going on in today's Gospel. (Luke 13:1-9) The crowd is fascinated with current events: Some people told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with the blood of their sacrifices. Clearly, they're reporting a recent news story. It has all the elements of good copy: politics, religion, violence, death.

The people have the mistaken belief that bad things only happen to evil-doers. And that gives them the nice, warm feeling of moral superiority. Well, we're not as bad as those Galileans. . .because those things didn't happen to us. But the deeper problem is that their attention is elsewhere. The Lord Himself stands in front of them, and they just want to dish the latest news. Yes, there's an ugliness to the gossip. But what's worse is that their attention elsewhere creates an obstacle to the Gospel. They lack the necessary presence, self-awareness, and reflection to hear our Lord.

So He corrects them. Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were greater sinners than all other Galileans? By no means! But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did! He even goes further and mentions another event that seems to have been in the news: Or those eighteen people who were killed when the tower at Siloam fell on them - do you think they were more guilty than everyone else who lived in Jerusalem? By no means! But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did!

By these rebukes our Lord focuses them - and us - on what's most immediate and important, on their own souls. Twice He directs their thoughts and concerns to their own status: I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish! In effect, Don't spend time worrying about people and events that do not concern you. Tend to your own soul and to the penance you need to do.

Now, we might not share the crowd's flawed theology that disasters only befall evil doers. But otherwise, we bear a great resemblance to them. We are fascinated and distracted by events that don't concern us. We have an entire media industry that depends on our desire for distraction and for the intimate details of celebrities and others. We're only too willing to oblige.

Eighty years ago, Father Edward Leen wrote of the modern world's "cult of unreality." Obviously, that cult has only grown since. Our technology gives us the constant ability to flee reality. We can always be somewhere else, distracted from the here and now, not present to ourselves or to Him. This caters to our fallen nature's penchant for distraction. Man has always tended toward distraction, but we've made an industry of it.

And much of this distraction is picking through the lives of complete strangers. Because it's much easier to pore over the sins of others than to repent of our own. Plus, we can enjoy a little moral outrage and superiority. We omit any reflection on our own faults because those people over there have done ...