Daily Retreat 02/24/06

2006 Feb 24 Fri: Ordinary Weekday

Jas 5: 9-12/ Ps 102(103): 1-2. 3-4. 8-9. 11-12/ Mk 10: 1-12

From today’s readings: "Do not complain about one another, that you may not be judged.... Merciful and gracious is the LORD, slow to anger and abounding in kindness.... For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh."

Complain, complain

Since no life is perfect, it goes without saying that, whether caused by us or imposed on us, the myriad imperfections of our lives do tend to grate on our nerves. And since our fallen human nature tends, like Adam and Eve, to blame others for our own problems, it’s no wonder that many people have, as one of their favorite passtimes, the habit of complaining about others.

To be sure, there is such a thing as a legitimate complaint, when it is a warranted cry against a grave injustice. In such cases, it’s generally the right thing to do to diligently work to put an end to injustice, but such efforts must nevertheless always be carried out in charity.

But so many complaints are more just about the things or persons that irritate us, and less about matters of injustice. Scripture warns us against the bad habit of making such complaints, since we certainly don’t want God to judge us sharply about all the things we do that dismay Him! Patience, compassion, and mercy are not only qualities we pray we may receive from God in our final judgment, they’re also what we should pray to receive from God now so that we can pass them on to others....