In our gospel for this Monday of the Second Week of Lent we hear our Lord continue to teach us how we are to live out our lives with God and with those around us. The Gospel for today starts out by reminding us to "Be merciful as your Father is merciful." We want and hope that the heavenly Father will be merciful to us whenever we sin or do wrong. But how about when someone does us wrong and seeks forgiveness from us? Are we as quick to forgive them as we are to expect forgiveness from the Heavenly Father? We are called to be loving and forgiving with all those in our lives. It's difficult, but it's what we are called to do by the Lord Jesus.
Does that mean we allow others to take advantage of us? No, it's not. We are to forgive, but if the other person in our life continues to sin against us, we are to forgive them, but then it's okay to keep your distance from them. Avoiding those who may lead you to sin is a healthy and wise way to lead your life. We are to forgive them, but it's okay for our mental health and spirituality to keep distance form those who may anger us and cause us to sin. As an act of charity, we are to also to pray for them to God for their health, wellbeing and conversion.
This brings us to the second part of today's Gospel: "Stop judging and you will not be judged." Our Lord goes on to remind us to not be condemning but to be forgiving. It's not easy, but it's the way of the Lord wants us to live out our lives: that of Loving God and loving neighbor. We all have our own "baggage" that we carry that causes us to act and do things that may not be right and proper in the eyes of God. We are to be concerned about how we live out our own lives in the eyes of God, and to reform our own lives, without worrying about how other people may be leading their lives in the eyes of God.
Let us live out these days of Lent, and the rest of our lives beyond Easter, in a spirit of love and repentance towards God, and that of forgiveness and love towards those God has place in our lives.
From Arlene B. Muller
ReplyDeleteI think it's not all that hard to forgive people on the surface and get along with them unless they have done something really horrible. But sometimes below the surface there can be thoughts & feelings of resentment of which we might not always be aware & we have to bring these to the LORD & ask for His help.
We judge actions as right or wrong but we need to avoid condemning people. In today's MINUTE MEDITATIONS from FRANCISCAN MEDIA Diane Houdek wrote that there will always be better than we are & worse than we are in various ways and we should focus on how we are doing ourselves and avoid making comparisons. So that agrees with your statement that we should focus on working on ourselves rather than worrying about what others are doing.
I think the people that make me the most angry & that I tend to judge the most are the politicians who claim to be "Catholic" while at the same time championing abortion in the most extreme way, threatening our religious freedom & conscience rights & championing the most extreme aspects of the LGBTQ + agenda. It is understood that the USA will not have laws that mirror all of Catholic teaching, because we have religious freedom & religious pluralism. But when their policies go beyond reasonable compromise to the extreme opposite of Christian morality, it's hard not to get angry. I have to remember to bring myself to praying for them. I am correct in opposing their policies but I need to respect & be charitable toward them as persons.