Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 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.”
Be merciful
1) Like the Father. Jesus invites us and asks us to be merciful, because heaven is our ultimate goal. Mercy is something that we are encouraged to put into practice especially during this season of Lent: a time when you should look inside yourself and become aware of those things that you regret; things that are not good, but that no one else knows about, just you. In spite of this, God never stops showing you His love and closeness. God never gets tired of giving you opportunities and keeps filling you with His love.
Today you are called to do the same: knowing other people’s troubles, give them the opportunity to change.
2) Judging. This is an issue that is always on our mind. It would be good to play the “how many times have I judged others” game every day… you might be surprised! We want everybody to be perfect or to be what we want them to be… and whoever is not on the same page as us gets criticized! How awful it is to judge just from mere suspicion and not from reality. If we let our imagination run wild, we might imagine a scene with someone on the defendant’s bench!
3) The measure. The measure of things depends on how you measure. Sometimes you are very hard on those around you, but you feel you’re free to do whatever you want. Look at yourself and be honest, be faithful and consistent with what you think and believe. It’s not good to be too hard on yourself or others. Virtue’s measure is right in the middle… not in the extremes.
Try to make this Lent different. And don’t forget that Heaven is our goal!
God bless you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
