"You hypocrite, remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother's eye." (Lk. 6:42)
This is the 8th Sunday of Ordinary Time. Wednesday we begin our Lenten journey. The readings bring us back to what is essential, reaching heaven by loving our neighbor. Each of us live in our own whirlwind, which comes at us or at times we even create for ourselves. We feed our soul with negativity and condemn others for the state of things today. This holy year as pilgrims of hope we are invited to leave our excess baggage whatever it may be and reset our lives.
The gospel invites us to look inward to the conversion of our hearts. Jesus last week commanded us to love even our enemies. This Sunday he tells us not to judge. Fraternal correction is sometimes necessary but we must always be willing to receive what we give. We should dedicate this Lent to work on ourselves. This spiritual work should be to become the change I'd like to see in the world. St. Teresa of Calcutta said (paraphrasing), that if we are sincerely working on ourselves, we will have no time left over to judge others.
Questions for Reflection:
- Am I harsh in my judgement of others?
- Do I choose to focus on their positive qualities instead of only the negative?
- Am I aware that it's impossible that I don't have a weakness that makes my neighbor practice patience with me?
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