Tag: judgment

“The greatest among you must be your servant.” | Tuesday of the Second Week of Lent

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 23:1-12)

Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, saying, “As for you, do not be called ‘Rabbi.’ You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers. Call no one on earth your father; you have but one Father in heaven. Do not be called ‘Master’; you have but one master, the Christ. The greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”

Jesus presents to those who hear him a path that gives what is due to religious leaders of his time, the scribes and Pharisees. Yet, he instructs those listening not to follow their example of burdening others through their authority or showing off for the sake of honor, to be noticed. “Do not follow their example,” Jesus says, “for they preach but they do not practice.” Instead, he invites us to turn our understanding of authority upside down and follow his example of leading by serving. “You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers.” In calling us to imitate him in humble service, Jesus opens up the way to perfect humility by putting the needs of others before our own and seeking to serve rather than be served.

God, help me practice my faith by doing what pleases you rather than what looks good in the eyes of others. It’s easy to point out the self-exaltation of others and the attention they seek. But when I turn to myself, what do I find through genuine self-examination? Give me the grace, God, to praise and give you glory by practicing what Jesus teaches. In seeking to do your will through humility and service, I have through Jesus the invitation to be the greatest among others by humbling myself for the sake of your glory.

From the responsorial psalm: “Help us, O God our savior, because of the glory of your name; deliver us and pardon our sins for your name’s sake. Lord, do not deal with us according to our sins.”

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.

“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” | Monday of the Second Week in Lent

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 6:36-38)

Jesus said to his disciples: “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.”

Jesus calls the disciples—and all of us—to perfect mercy by being merciful just as his Father is merciful. He gives examples of what mercy is: not judging or condemning but rather being forgiving and giving in relationships with others. To be merciful in this way seems an impossible task, yet that is exactly the way of life that Jesus invites us to adopt. When we ourselves, undeserving of mercy, receive it from God, Father of us all, it seems natural that we adopt the Spirit of the Father and do the same when encountering his sons and daughters. The gift he gives us becomes the gift we give away.

God, help me be merciful. I am quick to judge, and draw back from judgment and criticism only when I stop to consider what I am doing. Judgment is a two-edged sword that comes back to me time after time in some form. Instead, Lord, give me the grace to stand up against the dysfunction of judgment and forgive the faults of others or past hurts, not for the sake of self-gain but simply to stop judging. When I struggle to be merciful and forgiving, help me call to mind the words of Jesus and the result of being merciful: “Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give and gifts will be given to you.” Lord, open my eyes today to the opportunity to be merciful.

From the responsorial psalm: “Remember not against us the iniquities of the past; may your compassion quickly come to us, for we are brought very low. Lord, do not deal with us according to our sins.”

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.

Monday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew

Jesus said to his disciples: “Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove that splinter from your eye,’ while the wooden beam is in your eye? You hypocrite, remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother’s eye.”

Jesus speaks to the disciples in today’s Gospel about judging others. It is not altogether wrong to acknowledge the faults of others. However, he calls attention to judgment that is arrogant and self-righteous while ignoring one’s own flaws. Jesus calls those who judge in this way hypocrite. One’s own serious faults need to be addressed and corrected first before addressing the minor flaws—the splinter—of others. “Stop judging,” Jesus says, “that you may not be judged. For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you.” Be merciful to others, Jesus teaches, just as God is merciful to us.

God, help me make sense of today’s Gospel in light of the people I encounter. Judgmental by habit, I ask you for the grace to see how judgment binds me; fault-finding by nature, I ask for your mercy, despite my own faults. Work through me, Lord, so that I can remain in you and end any division that would keep me from staying close to my brother. Help me see myself and others clearly so that I can do your work.

Be with me today, Lord; let me be a means of your kindness. From the Gospel acclamation: “The word of God is living and effective, able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.”

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.

Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Lent

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

Jesus said, “I cannot do anything on my own; I judge as I hear, and my judgment is just, because I do not seek my own will but the will of the one who sent me.”

Today’s Gospel takes place immediately after yesterday’s, where Jesus cures the man who had been ill for thirty-eight years. The Jews persecuted Jesus because he cured the man on the sabbath. As the Gospel passage continues, Jesus gives witness to them that he is doing the work of his Father, making himself equal to God, which gives the Jews all the more reason to kill him. Jesus reveals himself to them as the giver of life and the just judge who holds life and death in his hands. “Amen, amen, I say to you, the hour is coming and is now here when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.” As the one whom the Father has given all judgment, Jesus tells them that those who have done good deeds will go to the resurrection of life, but those who have done wicked deeds to the resurrection of condemnation. In his own words, Jesus makes clear his divinity and the hope of eternal life to all who would hear him.

God, you have given all judgment to your Son. During the remaining days of Lent, help me identify and root out any wrong I have done that keeps me from hearing your voice and doing your will. Often I move throughout the day unaware of your presence, and I try but sometimes fail to make the best use of your gift of time. “My Father is at work until now,” Jesus says, “so I am at work.” Father, help me join in your work by seeking your will.

Lord, let me take consolation today in knowing you are with me even when I forget you. From the first reading from Isaiah, let me remember your tenderness: “Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you.”

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.

Readings