GOSPEL - Mt 7:1-5
Jesus said to his disciples: “Stop judging, 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. 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.”
PRAYER - Prayer for the Imprisoned St. Thomas More
Prayer #51 from the Oratory: Place of Prayer Book ($7)
Prayer #51 from the Oratory: Place of Prayer Book ($7)
Give me the grace, Good Lord. To set the world at naught. To set the mind firmly on You and not to hang upon the words of men's mouths. To be content to be solitary. Not to long for worldly pleasures. Little by little utterly to cast off the world and rid my mind of all its business. Not to long to hear of earthly things, but that the hearing of worldly fancies may be displeasing to me. Gladly to be thinking of God, piteously to call for His help. To lean into the comfort of God. Busily to labor to love Him. To know my own vileness and wretchedness. To humble myself under the mighty hand of God. To bewail my sins and, for the purging of them, patiently to suffer adversity. Gladly to bear my purgatory here. To be joyful in tribulations. To walk the narrow way that leads to life. To have the last thing in remembrance. To have ever before my eyes my death that is ever at hand. To make death no stranger to me. To foresee and consider the everlasting fire of Hell. To pray for pardon before the judge comes. To have continually in mind the passion that Christ suffered for me. For His benefits unceasingly to give Him thanks. To buy the time again that I have lost. To abstain from vain conversations. To shun foolish mirth, and gladness.To cut off unnecessary recreations. Of worldly substance, friends, liberty,life and all, to set the loss at naught, for the winning of Christ. To think my worst enemies my best friends, for the brethren of Joseph could never have done him so much good with their love and favor as they did him with their malice and hatred. These minds are more to be desired of every man than all the treasures of all the princes and kings, Christian and heathen, were it gatheredand laid together all in one heap. Amen
Monday is dedicated to the Holy Spirit & the Holy Souls in Purgatory
STUDY - An excerpt from Link to Liturgy Lesson Calling you Out - Taking Correction
When we judge we judge actions, which can objectively be good or evil. We do not know however, unless it is revealed to us, the interior of the person acting. We do not know their mind (knowledge) or their will (consent). Jesus, who is the judge, is the only person that can truly make a judgement on the whole person, because only He knows the action as well as the knowledge and consent of the person acting. Charity however calls us to correct others which means we need to be aware of good and evil and actions that are good and evil.
Why should we not be afraid to correct others? When we correct others we are showing them the greatest act of charity, to not correct them would be unloving. “Reprimand and rebuke should be accepted as healing remedies for vice and conductive to good health. From this it is clear that those who pretend to be tolerant because they wish to flatter – those who thus fail to correct sinners – actually cause them to suffer supreme loss and plot the destruction of that life which is their true life.” [1] When we see someone sinning and not say something, we can be condoning it through our non-action against it. The person can think, “Well if he/she isn’t saying anything, then it must be okay.” One of the spiritual works of mercy is admonish the sinner. We are called in the beatitudes to be merciful and thus mercy will be shown to us. We recognize that although we are admonishing the sinner, we too our also a sinner and thus admonish with truth and charity.
Why is it difficult to correct others? Mainly for the reason that Saint Basil says above. We wish to flatter people. We don’t want to be considered mean or intolerant. We are afraid of the persecution that might take place if we correct others. We also might not be convicted of the truth and so we don’t want to stand up for the truth.
How do we correct someone? We must be first and foremost charitable at all times. We must be clear and honest with the person, and realize they may not like what they are hearing at that very moment but they will respect you for it.
Won’t they think I’m judging them? Someone may think this, but remind them we are not judging them, but correcting them. It is better to correct and change now, than to be judged later on by the supreme judge, Jesus Christ.
When we judge we judge actions, which can objectively be good or evil. We do not know however, unless it is revealed to us, the interior of the person acting. We do not know their mind (knowledge) or their will (consent). Jesus, who is the judge, is the only person that can truly make a judgement on the whole person, because only He knows the action as well as the knowledge and consent of the person acting. Charity however calls us to correct others which means we need to be aware of good and evil and actions that are good and evil.
Why should we not be afraid to correct others? When we correct others we are showing them the greatest act of charity, to not correct them would be unloving. “Reprimand and rebuke should be accepted as healing remedies for vice and conductive to good health. From this it is clear that those who pretend to be tolerant because they wish to flatter – those who thus fail to correct sinners – actually cause them to suffer supreme loss and plot the destruction of that life which is their true life.” [1] When we see someone sinning and not say something, we can be condoning it through our non-action against it. The person can think, “Well if he/she isn’t saying anything, then it must be okay.” One of the spiritual works of mercy is admonish the sinner. We are called in the beatitudes to be merciful and thus mercy will be shown to us. We recognize that although we are admonishing the sinner, we too our also a sinner and thus admonish with truth and charity.
Why is it difficult to correct others? Mainly for the reason that Saint Basil says above. We wish to flatter people. We don’t want to be considered mean or intolerant. We are afraid of the persecution that might take place if we correct others. We also might not be convicted of the truth and so we don’t want to stand up for the truth.
How do we correct someone? We must be first and foremost charitable at all times. We must be clear and honest with the person, and realize they may not like what they are hearing at that very moment but they will respect you for it.
Won’t they think I’m judging them? Someone may think this, but remind them we are not judging them, but correcting them. It is better to correct and change now, than to be judged later on by the supreme judge, Jesus Christ.
[1] Saint Basil the Great; Paul Thigpen; Dictionary of Quotes from the Saints; page 48
