Tuesday, March 22, 2011
God's mercy, fill us from within!
The main theme I got from today's Gospel and Father Bosco's homily at mass is about judgement. But it led to many more questions and reflections.
Luke 6: 36-38 'Be compassionate just as your Father is compassionate. Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and there will be gifts for you: a full measure, pressed down, shaken together, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap; because the standard you use will be the standard used for you.'
I first realised that the reason why sometimes I am so hard on myself is because I judge people and I understand that I need to measure myself by the standard in which I judge people. But then this question comes to me, if it about holiness and our Christian way of life, shouldn't I be striving for greater holiness? All of us are called to holiness, we should set a high standard for ourselves and hence, be challenging others to do so. Guess the answer I got was the different between challenging and judging. One should not take the "holier than thou" attitude when challenging, but coming from true concern and love for the brother or sister. Nevertheless, it is a result of pride that I deem myself to be more holy, and thus the need for me to challenge or judge. Its a confusing puzzle, a circular one in that.
This brings to mind an article by Father Ronald Rolheiser that Melmel showed me. It talks about trusting in God's mercy. Not to appear condescending, he explains why we need to understand the person's situation and trust that God's mercy and grace will flow through. It isn't always through us and through our challenges that the person will change but it is through God. Having said that, it would still be our responsibility to direct him or her to God. So we gotta see it from a larger perspective - that we all are given God's mercy and grace. We need to be as compassionate as He is, as loving as He is and as forgiving as He is. We must strive for holiness and closeness towards God but that doesn't give us the authority to judge. It however, prompts us to challenge and to love like He did.
Lord, in this time of ministry, I implore your guidance as I wade through this murky ground of challenging and judging. Let not the Devil tempt me. But I pray for Your Grace to fill me. Amen.
mark
God's mercy, fill us from within!
The main theme I got from today's Gospel and Father Bosco's homily at mass is about judgement. But it led to many more questions and reflections.
Luke 6: 36-38 'Be compassionate just as your Father is compassionate. Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and there will be gifts for you: a full measure, pressed down, shaken together, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap; because the standard you use will be the standard used for you.'
I first realised that the reason why sometimes I am so hard on myself is because I judge people and I understand that I need to measure myself by the standard in which I judge people. But then this question comes to me, if it about holiness and our Christian way of life, shouldn't I be striving for greater holiness? All of us are called to holiness, we should set a high standard for ourselves and hence, be challenging others to do so. Guess the answer I got was the different between challenging and judging. One should not take the "holier than thou" attitude when challenging, but coming from true concern and love for the brother or sister. Nevertheless, it is a result of pride that I deem myself to be more holy, and thus the need for me to challenge or judge. Its a confusing puzzle, a circular one in that.
This brings to mind an article by Father Ronald Rolheiser that Melmel showed me. It talks about trusting in God's mercy. Not to appear condescending, he explains why we need to understand the person's situation and trust that God's mercy and grace will flow through. It isn't always through us and through our challenges that the person will change but it is through God. Having said that, it would still be our responsibility to direct him or her to God. So we gotta see it from a larger perspective - that we all are given God's mercy and grace. We need to be as compassionate as He is, as loving as He is and as forgiving as He is. We must strive for holiness and closeness towards God but that doesn't give us the authority to judge. It however, prompts us to challenge and to love like He did.
Lord, in this time of ministry, I implore your guidance as I wade through this murky ground of challenging and judging. Let not the Devil tempt me. But I pray for Your Grace to fill me. Amen.
mark