May the Lord give you peace in the Holy Spirit. It is on 22nd June 2023.
We celebrate the memorial of the saints Paulinus of Nola, a Bishop, John Fisher, a bishop and Thomas More, a martyr.
Are our lives reminders or mere remains?
We reflect on 2 Cor. 11:1-11 and the Gospel from Matthew 6:7-15.
In responding to Jesus’s call to be perfect as the Heavenly Father is perfect,’ (Mt.5:48), we notice how vulnerable, fragile, weak, and foolish we are at times. St. Paul shares his inadequacy in how he passed on the truth.
Whenever we accept our ‘little foolishness’ (2 Cor.11:1) in our relationship, we begin to grow. On the contrary, when we begin hiding it, are not willing to speak about it, and refuse to seek the necessary help needed, we end up blaming, criticizing, and condemning others for our inefficiencies. We can surely learn a lot from the first reading of some of the good qualities St. Paul had.
In addressing the challenges, he faced, he never mentioned anyone’s name, but his expressions of disapproval were strong and focused. It is necessary to take a stand for the Gospel and to be firmly rooted in the same even when one is tossed and toasted by the adversaries. Keep reminding the good things about the Gospel we preach without fearing anyone. Our love for the Good News needs to be demonstrated in loving and safeguarding the faith of the people we serve.
False teachers and preachers are always there around us. We cannot stop them, yet we can always lead others towards a sincere and pure devotion to Christ and the Church. We all must try to minimize the distractions and threats from the false teachings around us.
Our vantage points of correction belong to the Sacred Scripture, the Apostolic Tradition and the Teaching Authority of our church. We all need to be extremely careful in following and directed by the ‘the super-apostles’ who mislead us and distort the truth about Jesus and His teachings.
Let us not lose hope in any given situation when we feel that things are not going the way we want. Said and done, we must believe that God is running the show, not anyone else.
The responsorial Psalm praises, “Your works, O Lord, are justice and truth.” (Ps.110:7).
Jesus instructs us in the Gospel that our prayer will be futile without reconciling with God and one another. Our lives must not be engrossed in settling scores and holding key positions of influence and power rather we need to focus on stabilizing and strengthening the connections that have been weakened by arrogance, pride and unforgiving attitudes. It is our black spot, a little foolishness, and an emotional and spiritual struggle to forgive others.
Praying turns fruitless when there is no adequate and appropriate forgiveness. We cannot expect God to forgive us when we have chosen not to forgive others. Let us deal with our little foolishness before we call our Father. Let us begin today to treat others as our siblings before we call God Father.
May God bless you. Have a good day.