From the responsorial psalm: “Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest in which she puts her young— Your altars, O LORD of hosts, my king and my God! How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!”
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 6:39-42)
“Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own? How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove that splinter in your eye,’ when you do not even notice the wooden beam in your own eye? You hypocrite! Remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter in your brother’s eye.”
Jesus emphasizes the hypocrisy of judging others while being blind to one’s own shortcomings or flaws. Jesus, the incarnate Word, invites us into self-examination and the call to correct oneself before we find that it is necessary to offer correction to others. In calling people to focus on their own shortcomings, Jesus sets us on a path toward humility and self-awareness. To will the good of the other, as Saint Thomas Aquinas defines love, sometimes means addressing the faults of others. In entering into this, Jesus calls us to himself to treat others mercifully and with an understanding of one’s own humility and weaknesses. Taking all of this into account, Saint John Chrysostom said: “But I am quite certain that you will do this out of the tender love you bear your own members, and that you will make every effort to bring your brothers and sisters back to our common Mother, because I know that through the grace of God you are able to admonish others with wisdom.”
God, in helping others, give me the grace to discern what is at stake and what my role is. Help me see others as you see them, and teach me to be humble and to remember my own faults before I judge them. Lord, help me hear your voice today. Saint John Chrysostom, pray for us!
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.