Word to the Wise
Friday, September 9, 2022 - Friday in the 23th Week in Ordinary Time
[1 Cor 9:16-19, 22b-27 and Luke 6:39-42]Why do you notice the splinter in your brother's eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own?" [Luke]
SEPTEMBER 9 ST. PETER CLAVER,sj
Occasionally, when this passage from the Gospel According to Luke appears and I can find what I need, I bring a piece of wood with plenty of splinters in it and hand it to someone in the congregation and tell them to pass it around while I'm talking! The physical example brings the message home! Fault-finding is a common failure and it appears often in the sacrament of reconciliation under the word, "judgmentalism." It also feeds the problem of gossip.
There are times when honest and unbiased discernment about strengths and weaknesses is required when evaluating a person for a particular task. But outside that circumstance, the beam-and-splinter image is a good guide for an examination of conscience! When I served as director of novices in my Dominican province, I led a monthly session of "affirmations and apologies." A novice could "affirm" another novice or apologize for some faulty conduct. Affirmation, contritionA and encouragement make the necessity for change in conduct a lot easier. And in all of this, acknowledgment of the beams in our own eyes should take place before looking for splinters in the eyes of others. We have Jesus' word for it! AMEN