Scripture readings for this reflection can be found at Friday of the First Week of Lent | USCCB
As we journey through
Lent the readings from the gospel are directing us to not only develop a closer
relationship with God through prayer and fasting, but also to develop a good
and loving relationship with those we encounter in our day-to-day existence.
Our Lord is telling us
today that not only is wrong to physically kill anyone, but we are to refrain
from being angry with those in our lives. Our Lord is placing anger towards those
in our lives on the same level as killing them. Anger towards those in our
lives for whatever reason is not pleasing to God.
To live out our lives
as Catholic Christians, Jesus is reminding us that it’s more than regular
attendance at Church and saying our prayers that count, but it’s also about forgiving
everyone we may have issues with. We need to see God in each person, whether we
like them or not.
As we hear in the gospel of Matthew, chapter 25, with
the judgement of the nations, Jesus says, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did
for one of these least brothers of mine, you did
for me.’ (Matthew 25:40). In other words, if we are angry at someone, we are
angry at the Lord.
The
challenge for all of us is to be able to see our Lord in those people we meet
each day. Eash person we meet is made in the image and likeness of God.
Unfortunately, due to our human weakness, it’s not easy to see the image of God
in other people. The biggest challenge
is close family relationships where there’s friction, either between spouses or
between siblings. Our families know us very well and sometimes it seems easier
to be angry at our relatives than it is to love them and forgive them. Since
they know us so well, they know what buttons to press to make us angry at them.
The important thing in family relations is not to hold grudges and to hold onto
anger towards those that hurt us. We need to try to be reconciled with those in
our family that we are separated from due to family disputes. We are called to
approach everyone with love and forgiveness.
St.
Theresa of Calcutta is quoted as saying, “People
are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of
selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.” In this way we can bring the love
and forgiveness of God to all those in our lives.
May we be as loving and forgiving
of others as we expect God to be loving and forgiving of us.
From Arlene B. Muller
ReplyDeletePlease pray for my friends L & J, who are biological sisters to one another. They have a long history & almost every time they see each other they start fighting. It's a complicated situation. The one sister has done & has been doing a lot to help the other, who has mental health issues. But the one with mental health issues has a bad "entitlement" attitude & the other one, who has physical health issues & is always extending herself to help several people & help animals gets very angry & is easily provoked to anger, so it's a very upsetting situation.