Monday of 2nd week Lent “Be merciful as your Heavenly Father is merciful.” Dn.9,4-10 Ps.78 Lk.6,36-38 “Do not judge and you shall not be judged; do not condemn and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you shall be forgiven.” The apostle Paul wrote to the Romans : ’But why do you judge your brother And why do you despise your brother?’ We need to put an end to these judgements towards one another. Judgements is something that is delicate and complex and lacks realism if it doesn’t go right to the end. Judgements is something implicit within ourselves, in a gaze, one is unable to observe, listen, live without judgement. If we have a responsibility we judge. The venin coming from our judgement needs to be lifted from our hearts : After ’Do not judge and you shall not be judged’ comes immediately the commandment : ’Do not condemn and you shall not be condemned.’ The action of judging is something neutral, judgement can end with a condemnation or a justification. Negative judgements are taken and immediately taken up again and banished by the Word of God. We want to see life’s realities and the realities in the world as Jesus sees them. Through his work of Salvation for humanity. When we become aware of our misery, we don’t judge anyone anymore but we ask Mercy for everybody. It is by his Love that Jesus saves us and we ask Him for the grace to become like Him. By his Humility Jesus gives a remedy for our misery and our weakness : When we are touched in our own flesh by misery of brothers we receive an attitude for them from God which is a new attitude of Mercy. “”Give and it shall be given unto you : a full measure, pressed down shaken together, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap." Charity links us together with affection for one another. In order to love our brother we need to love ourselves without over estimating ourselves. It is in the Gentle Light of Jesus who saves us that we come to see light in our brothers, we can see their merits and values. We don’t minimise our faults and failings but we give them to God’s mercy. ’May fraternal love link you together with affection’ said Paul. In order to estimate one’s brother, one mustn’t over estimate one’self. We mustn’t be too sure of ourselves. As we walk towards our Easter celebration, we place our steps in those of Jesus In equality with God. When he was baptised by John, he was tehre in the crowd with sinners, He who is the Only Up righteous One. God who saves us asks of us an attitude similar to His own. The attitude we have for our brothers is the same as we have for God Himself. The measure with which we build up the community will be overflowing in us. “For the measure you will use will be the measure used for you.” One of the things that spoil community life is gossip. It is not enough not to speak badly of one another, we need to also prevent others of speaking badly of others in our presence. The atmosphere in a community is so different when we take love for our bothers seriously. To the community of the Philippines Paul said ’Have one same love, one same soul, one same feeling ; don’t let the spirit of division get to you ; nor vain glory, but may each of you consider the other greater than you, out of humility ; do not seek your own interests, but rather may each of you think of others first. Have the same feelings as in Christ amongst you." We want to show compassion as Jesus Himself is compassionate. God’s heart is filled with tenderness, we only have to turn towards Him and in our miery we shall be enlightened by his face full of Love for us for w are in need of great compassion! ’In the word ’misericorde’ (mercy) in French there is the word ’Misery’ and ’heart’. The attitude of mercy is healing for us ,w e who recognise that we are sinners in a people of sinners, we ask for God’s forgiveness. We turn to Our Father, full of Mercy, and we ask Him to give us the Holy Spirit.
Second week of Lent : Monday of 2nd week of Lent
“Do not judged and you will not be judged; do not condemn and you will not be condemned.” The speech on judgement is delicate and complex. In fact, how can we live without ever judging, for judgement is implicit in us, even in the way we see things. We cannot observe, listen, live, without giving appreciations, that is, without judging. It is not so much the judgement that we should take away from our hearts , but rather the venin that comes from our spiteful, condemning judgement. In itself, the fact of judging is quite a neutral thing, for judgement can end just as much with a condemnation, an absolution or a justification.There are negative judgements that are pronounced and put far from the Word of God, there are judgements that condemn the sinner at the same time as the sin, judgements that aim at punishment rather than fraternal correction. We want to see the realities of life and the world in the way Jesus sees them and through his work of Salvation for humanity. When we are aware of our misery we no longer judge others but ask Mercy for all. It is through His Love that Jesus saves us. Through His humility, Jesus gives a remedy for our misery and weakness. When in our own flesh we are touched by the misery of our brothers, we receive from God a new attitude of mercy towards them.
“Give, and there will be gifts for you: a full measure, pressed down, shaken together and overflowing, will be poured into your lap”.
An important point qualifies sincere love : esteem. "May fraternal love bind you with affection one to another.” says Paul. In order to esteem his brother, one must not esteem one ’self too much, one must ’not always be too sure of oneself, nor over esteem one ’self! Whoever does so is like a man who at night has in front of his eyes an intense light : he sees nothing beyond this light; he is unable to see the light of his brothers, their merits and values. “To minimize” must become our favorite verb in relationship to one another : minimize our merits and other peoples’ faults. As we walk towards Easter, we walk in the footsteps of Jesus… we acquire the sentiments that were in his Heart. Jesus, in his life on earth did not retain the rank that made him equal to God. When he was baptized by John, he was in the crowd amongst sinners , He , the One True Just. God who saves us asks us to have a similar attitude to His Own. The attitude we have towards our brothers is the same we have towards God himself. The measure with which we build up the community will be overflowing for us.
“For the measure you use will be the measure for you.” It is insufficient merely not to speak badly of others. We also need to prevent others from doing so in our presence, making them understand even without saying anything that we disagree with their manner of acting. The atmosphere in a community becomes so different when we show compassion, acting as our Father who is Compassionate. God’s
Heart is filled with Tenderness, we only have to turn towards Him in our misery and we are illuminated by his Face, full of Love for us. For we are in great need of a huge compassion! In the word for ’mercy ’in Latin, there are the two words “mercy” and “heart”(miseri-cordia). “Oh Lord, so full of Mercy, great and powerful, you who keeps your Covenant for those who love you, we have sinned against you!” The prophet Daniel does not stand on the side of the just ones. He prays : “We have sinned! We have committed iniquity! We have done evil! We have been rebellious and we have turned away from your commandments!” This attitude of penitence is a source of healing for those of us who recognize that we are sinners living amongst a sinful people. We experience solidarity with evil that comes into the world and we walk towards Easter in the name of everybody, for everybody, and we ask God’s forgiveness.