Word to the Wise
Monday, February 25, 2013 - 2nd Week of Lent - Mon
[Dan 9:4b-10 and Luke 6:36-38]Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you.
Mercy, forgiveness and generosity all come together in this group of Jesus' teachings! The description of someone taking a basket, filling it and then shaking it to create more room and then packing down the contents before giving it over shows the timelessness of the idea. It's something we might do for a friend. But would we be that generous with mercy and forgiveness, even with a friend?
Perhaps the most frequent failing I hear people admit to in the Sacrament of Reconciliation is being "judgmental." It's a fault that is very difficult to root out. We compare a lot or we react to the actions of others and the result is almost always negative. Since I come from a "legal" background (I have a law degree and my father was a judge), I often advise the "judge" to go out in the backyard and bury their "gavel" so that it becomes very difficult to pass judgment!
If we can confront this common failing during Lent and do something to reverse it to mercy and forgiveness, we will have done something that can change our whole attitude of life! It seems to me this would be much better than "giving up" something for 40 days! AMEN