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.â Matthew 7:1-2
Being judgmental can be a difficult thing to shake. Once someone falls into the habit of regularly thinking and speaking in a harsh and critical way, itâs very difficult for them to change. In fact, once someone starts down the road of being critical and judgmental, chances are that they will continue down that road becoming more critical and more judgmental.
This is one of the reasons Jesus addresses this tendency in such a strong way. After the passage above Jesus states, âYou hypocrite, remove the wooden beam from your eye firstâŚâ These words and Jesusâ strong condemnation of being judgmental is not so much because Jesus is angry or harsh toward the judgmental person. Rather, He wants to redirect them from the road they are heading down and help to free them of this heavy burden. So an important question to ponder is this: âIs Jesus talking to me? Do I struggle with being judgmental?â
If the answer is âYes,â fear not and do not get discouraged. Seeing this tendency and admitting it is very important and is the first step toward the virtue which is opposite of being judgmental. The virtue is mercy. And mercy is one of the most important virtues we can have today.
It seems that the times we live in demand mercy more than ever. Perhaps one of the reasons for that is the extreme tendency, as a world culture, to be harsh and critical of others. All you need to do is read a newspaper, browse social media, or watch the nightly news programs to see that our world culture is one that is continually growing in the tendency to analyze and criticize. This is a real problem.
The good thing about mercy is that God uses either our judgmentalness or our mercy (depending upon which is more manifest) as the measuring rod of how He treats us. He will act with great mercy and forgiveness toward us when we show that virtue. But He will also show His justice and judgment when this is the path we take with others. Itâs up to us!
Reflect, today, on mercy and judgmentalness in your life. Which one is greater? What is your primary tendency? Remind yourself that mercy is always far more rewarding and satisfying than being judgmental. It produces joy, peace and freedom. Put mercy in your mind and commit yourself to seeing the blessed rewards of this precious gift.
Lord, please do fill my heart with mercy. Help me to set aside all critical thinking and harsh words and replace them with Your love. Jesus, I trust in You.
Imago Dei is probably one of the most important teachings in the bible from God. It teaches us that we as humans are one race of humanity capable of love. Made in the image of God does not mean that we look like Him but instead that we have His qualities and attributes. We are to share Godâs nature amongst others here on Earth and that is why we protest for Black Lives Matter. As human beings, we should not be looked differently, treated differently and most importantly killed for the colour of our skin. Having a darker pigment of melanin in our skin does not make us different from any white person out there. We may share the same interests and hobbies as a white person and that is perfectly normal and illustrates how we can be the same person. It does not matter how we look on the outside. It is what happens on the inside that matters, we are told to think good thoughts which would come as a reflection of how we act on the outside. Through Imago Dei we are taught to love one another despite the flaws a person must have. In addition, the phrase allows us to put aside all feelings of hatred and look after one another as we are stewards of the Earth and must love all creatures of God, which especially includes humans. No child is born discriminating against others due to the colour of their skin. It is the effect that their environment and society has on them. As stewards, our first action must be to try and debunk certain parts of society who feel as if they are better due to their white skin. The radical right-wing extremists may not be approachable, but your family and friends who may feel this way are. Educate the uneducated and let them know that BLACK LIVES MATTER!
If Jesus was to see the prejudice and discrimination against people he would be disgraced. He did not put himself on the cross so that his people could kill and hate one another. He gave us the new commandment to âLove Thy Neighbourâ and I believe that is what the basis of the protests are. The protests seek change and justice which can only be done if you start to care and love everyone for who they are on the inside and not what they look like. God laid down his only son so we as humans, and His creation would learn to protect one another and care for in times of need. Jesus did not die for another man to commit a hate crime against Godâs creation named George Floyd. There are many people like George Floyd who deserved much better and did not deserve to die. Jesus was a man of change, he would praise the revolution thatâs currently happening and tell us to keep going and fight for what is right.Â
If my house was on fire, and the firefighters came to put it out, would you stand there asking âWhat about my house?â when your house is not going up in flames. The answer is no you wouldnât because you would put other peoplesâ needs instead of yours as you donât need the attention or the help. That is why Black Lives Matter is so much more important than âAll Lives Matterâ because at the moment not all white lives are getting killed for carrying a toy gun. Not all white lives are getting killed for a speeding ticket. Instead, theyâre told to âdrive carefullyâ with a laugh and a smile on their face or to âget out of this neighbourhoodâ which is predominantly black people. That is racism. Showing signs of hatred due to the colour of someoneâs skin. As a woman of colour, raised in England for most of her life, I have endured racism on the streets, in school and even shops. Many non-people of colour think that racism is only bad if you hit someone whoâs not white or yell derogatory terms at them, but what most of them are unaware of is that the worst part of racism is the unintentional actions. Clutching your bag closer to you when a person of colour walks into the room, not smiling at them down the street or even scrunching up your nose as you walk past someone who smells of âcurryâ. White people are unaware of the privilege they receive from birth. They will never know how it feels when someone doesnât want to play with you on the playground because your skin colour isnât the same or not being able to find the right foundation colour because companies refuse to make colours that dark. I cannot stress how important it is for black people to have allies in the white community. To have someone stick up for you against their own race and prove them wrong is one of the most empowering feelings alongside a sense of gratitude.Â
St Paulâs teaching could not be any truer to what we need now. I believe that one of the most important things that can be done to improve equal treatment for all people here in the UK is to teach. Teaching children from a young age about racism will let them know that it is wrong to be discriminative. As well as that I believe everyone should get equal opportunities and access to higher posts and not be looked down upon. Those black people who worked hard to get a promotion but instead was demoted should be the next.
I believe that the Pope congratulated the Bishop for taking the chance to stand with his people as a man of God and to let them know that God is always with them. The Pope believes that as creations of God we are all one and should not be treated differently, therefore I believe that the Bishop felt the importance to kneel in solidarity with respect to those who lost their lives. He knew that it was the right thing to do, to enforce change in our society and to let other Catholics know that under Godâs law we are united.
By Leah James, Year 12
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. Matthew 11:29 (Year A Gospel)
Happy Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus!
To some, this can seem like an old and outdated celebration in the Church. It can be seen as one of those ancient feasts that have little meaning in our lives today. Nothing could be further from the truth!
The Sacred Heart of Jesus is exactly what we need to know, experience and receive in our lives today. His heart, that heart which was pierced by the lance and from which flowed blood and water, is the sign, symbol and source of the burning love of His very soul. The blood is an image of the Most Holy Eucharist and the water is an image of the cleansing waters of Baptism.
This celebration of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is a celebration of Jesus pouring out on us His whole life and all of His love. He held nothing back which is symbolized by the pouring forth of the last drop of this blood and water from His Heart as He lay there dead on the Cross. Though itâs a very graphic image, itâs graphic to make a point. The point, again, is that He held nothing back. We need to realize that Jesus continues to give us everything if we are willing to receive it.
If you are finding that you need to know His love more deeply in your life this day, try spending time reflecting on this Scripture: ââŚbut one soldier thrust his lance into his side, and immediately blood and water flowed outâ (John 19:33-34). Spend time reflecting upon that last self gift, the gift of that water and blood flowing from His wounded Heart. It is a sign of His infinite love for you. Reflect upon it being poured out especially for you. See it, be immersed in it, and be open to it. Let His love transform and fill you.
Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us. I thank You, dear Lord, for giving all to me. You held nothing back from me and You continue to pour out Your life for my good and for the good of the whole world. May I receive all You give to me and hold nothing back from You. Jesus, I trust in You.
âThis is how you are to pray: Our Father who art in heavenâŚâ Matthew 6:9
The following is an excerpt from the My Catholic Worship! book, Chapter Eleven, on the Lordâs Prayer:
The Lordâs Prayer is indeed a summary of the entire Gospel. It is called âThe Lordâs Prayerâ in that Jesus Himself gave it to us as a way of teaching us to pray. In this prayer, we find seven petitions to God. Within those seven petitions we will find every human longing and every expression of faith found within the Scriptures. Everything we need to know about life and prayer is contained in the wonderful prayer.
Jesus Himself gave us this prayer as the model of all prayer. It is good that we repeat the words of the Lordâs Prayer regularly in vocal prayer. This is also done in the various sacraments and liturgical worship. However, saying this prayer is not enough. The goal is to internalize each and every aspect of this prayer so that it becomes a model of our personal petition to God and an entrustment of our entire life to Him.
The Foundation of Prayer
The Lordâs Prayer begins not with a petition; rather, it begins with us acknowledging our identity as children of the Father. This is a key foundation for the Lordâs Prayer to be prayed properly. It also reveals the foundational approach we must take in all prayer and in the entire Christian life. The opening statement preceding the seven petitions is as follows: âOur Father who art in Heaven.â Letâs take a look at what is contained in this opening statement of the Lordâs Prayer.
Filial Boldness: At Mass, the priest invites the people to pray the Lordâs Prayer by saying, âAt the Saviorâs command and formed by divine teaching we dare to sayâŚâ This âdaringâ on our part comes from the foundational understanding that God is our Father. Each Christian is to see the Father as my Father. We must see ourselves as Godâs children and approach Him with the confidence of a child. A child with a loving parent is not afraid of that parent. Rather, children have the greatest trust that their parents love them no matter what. Even when they sin, children know they are still loved. This must be our fundamental starting point for all prayer. We must start with an understanding that God loves us no matter what. With this understanding of God we will have all the confidence we need to call on Him.
Abba: Calling God âFatherâ or, more specifically, âAbbaâ means we cry out to God in the most personal and intimate of ways. âAbbaâ is a term of endearment for the Father. This shows that God is not just the Almighty or the All-Powerful. God is so much more. God is my loving Father and I am the Fatherâs beloved son or daughter.
âOurâ Father: To call God âourâ Father expresses an entirely new relationship as a result of the New Covenant that was established in the blood of Christ Jesus. This new relationship is one in which we are now Godâs people and He is our God. Itâs an exchange of persons and, therefore, deeply personal. This new relationship is nothing other than a gift from God to which we have no right. We have no right to be able to call God our Father. Itâs a grace and a gift.
This grace also reveals our profound unity to Jesus as the Son of God. We can only call God âFatherâ in so far as we are one with Jesus. His humanity unites us to Him and we now share in a deep bond with Him.
Calling God âourâ Father also reveals the union we share with one another. All who call God their Father in this intimate way are brothers and sisters in Christ. We, therefore, are not only deeply connected together; we also are enabled to worship God together. In this case, individualism is left behind in exchange for fraternal unity. We are members of this one divine family as a glorious gift of God.
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Jesus said to his disciples: âTake care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father.â Matthew 6:1
Very often when we do something good, we want others to see. We want them to be aware of how good we are. Why? Because it feels good to be recognized and honored by others. But Jesus tells us to do the complete opposite.
Jesus tells us that when we do a work of charity, fast or pray we should do it in a hidden way. In other words, we should not do it so as to be noticed and praised by others. Itâs not that there is anything wrong with others seeing our goodness. Rather, Jesusâ teaching goes to the heart of our motivations for our good actions. Heâs trying to tell us that we should act in a holy way because we want to grow close to God and serve His will, not so that we can be recognized and praised by others.
This offers us a great opportunity to look deeply and honestly at our motivations. Why do you do what you do? Think about the good things you try to do. Then think about your motivation in doing those things. Hopefully you are motivated to do holy things simply because you want to be holy and want to serve the will of God. Are you content with God and God alone seeing your good actions? Are you OK with no one else recognizing your selflessness and acts of love? Hopefully the answer is âYes.â
Holiness is especially found in your hidden life. There, where you are seen only by God, you must act in a way that pleases God. You must live a life of virtue, prayer, sacrifice and self-giving when only God sees. If you can live this way in your hidden life, you can also be certain that your hidden life of grace will affect others in a way that only God can orchestrate. When you strive for holiness in a hidden way, God sees that and uses it for good. This hidden life of grace becomes the foundation for who you are and how you interact with others. They may not see all you do, but they will be affected by the goodness within your soul.
Lord, help me to live a hidden life of grace. Help me to serve You even when no one sees. From the solitude of those moments, bring forth Your grace and mercy for the world. Jesus, I trust in You.
âBut I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father.â Matthew 5:44-45a
This is not an easy command from our Lord. But it is a command of love.
First, He calls us to love our enemies. Who are our enemies? Hopefully we do not have âenemiesâ in the sense of those who we have willfully chosen to hate. But we may have people in our lives who we are tempted to have anger toward and who we have a difficult time loving. Perhaps we can consider anyone we struggle with as our enemies.
To love them does not necessarily mean we must become best friends with them, but it does mean we must work toward having a true affection of care, concern, understanding and forgiveness toward them. This can be hard to have toward everyone but it must be our goal.
The second part of this command will help. Praying for those who persecute us will help us grow in the proper love and affection we need to foster. This aspect of love is quite straightforward even though it is also quite difficult.
Think about those whom you have a very difficult time loving. Those toward whom you have anger. It could be a family member, someone at work, a neighbor or someone from your past with whom you have never reconciled. It is in keeping with this Gospel passage to honestly admit that there is at least someone, or perhaps more than one person, with whom you struggle, either externally or internally. Admitting this is simply an act of honesty.
Once you identify this person or persons, think about whether you pray for them. Do you spend time regularly offering them to God in prayer? Do you pray that God pours forth His grace and mercy upon them? This may be hard to do but it is one of the healthiest acts you can do. It may be difficult to show love and affection toward them, but it is not hard to consciously choose to pray for them.
Praying for those with whom we have a hard time is key to letting God foster a true love and concern in our hearts toward them. Itâs a way of letting God reform our emotions and feelings so that we will no longer have to hold on to feelings of anger or even hate.
Commit yourself this day to prayer for the person you struggle with the most. This prayer will most likely not change your love for them over night, but if you commit to this form of prayer every day, over time God will slowly change your heart and free you of the burden of anger and hurt that may keep you from the love He wants you to have toward all people.
Lord, I pray for the person for whom You want me to pray. Help me to love all people and help me to especially love those who are hard to love. Reorder my feelings toward them and help me to be free of any anger. Jesus, I trust in You.
âBut I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other one to him as well.â Matthew 5:39
Ouch! This is a hard teaching to embrace.
Did Jesus really mean this? Often, when put in the situation where someone wrongs us or hurts us we can tend to immediately rationalize away this Gospel passage and presume it doesnât apply to us. Yes, itâs a hard teaching to believe and an even harder one to live.
What does it mean to âturn the other cheek?â First, we should look at this on a literal level. Jesus did mean what He said. He is the perfect example of this. Not only was He slapped on the cheek, He was also brutally beaten and hung on a cross. And His response was, âFather, forgive them, they know not what they do.â Therefore, Jesus does not call us to do anything that He Himself was not willing to do.
Turning the other cheek does not mean that we need to cover up anotherâs abusive actions or words. We ought not pretend that they have done nothing wrong. Jesus Himself, in forgiving and in asking the Father to forgive, acknowledged the grave injustice He received at the hands of sinners. But the key is that He did not allow Himself to be drawn into their malice.
Often times, when we feel like another flings mud at us, so to speak, we are tempted to fling it right back. We are tempted to fight and push the bully back. But the key to overcoming the malice and cruelty of another is to refuse to be drawn down into the mud. Turning the other cheek is a way of saying that we refuse to degrade ourselves to foolish bickering or arguing. We refuse to engage irrationality when we encounter it. Instead, we choose to allow another to reveal their malice to themselves and to others by peacefully accepting it and forgiving.
This is not to say that Jesus wants us to perpetually live in abusive relationships that are more than we can handle. But it does mean that we will all encounter injustice from time to time and we need to handle it with mercy and immediate forgiveness, and not become drawn into returning malice for malice.
Reflect, today, on any relationships that are difficult for you. Especially reflect upon how ready you are to forgive and to turn the other cheek. Doing this may just bring you the peace and freedom you seek in that relationship.
Lord, help me to imitate Your great mercy and forgiveness.Â
Help me to forgive those who have hurt me and help me to rise above any injustice I encounter.Â
Jesus, I trust in You.
âIf your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away.â Matthew 5:29-30a
Does Jesus really mean this? Literally?
We can be certain that this language, which is shocking, is not a literal command but is rather a symbolic statement commanding us to avoid sin with great zeal, and to avoid all that leads us to sin. The eye can be understood as a window to our soul where our thoughts and desires reside. The hand can be seen as a symbol of our actions. Thus, we must eliminate every thought, affection, desire and action that leads us to sin.
The true key to understanding this passage is to allow ourselves to be affected by the powerful language that Jesus uses. He does not hesitate to speak in a shocking way so as to reveal to us the calling we have to confront with much zeal that which leads to sin in our lives. âPluck it outâŚcut it off,â He says. In other words, eliminate your sin and all that leads you to sin in a definitive way. The eye and the hand are not sinful in and of themselves; rather, in this symbolic language they are spoken of as those things that lead to sin. Therefore, if certain thoughts or certain actions lead you to sin, these are the areas to target and to eliminate.
Regarding our thoughts, sometimes we can allow ourselves to dwell excessively upon this or that. As a result, these thoughts can lead us to sin. The key is to âpluck outâ that initial thought that produces the bad fruit.
Regarding our actions, we can at times put ourselves in situations that tempt us and lead to sin. These occasions of sin must be cut off from our lives.
Reflect, today, upon this very direct and powerful language of our Lord. Let the forcefulness of His words be an impetus for change and avoidance of all sin.
Lord, I am sorry for my sin and I ask for Your mercy and forgiveness. Please help me to avoid all that leads me to sin and to surrender all my thoughts and actions to You every day. Jesus, I trust in You
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