Daily Retreat 08/16/06
2006 Aug 16 Wed: Ordinary Weekday/ Stephen of Hungary, mm
Ez 9: 1-7; 10: 18-22/ Ps 112(113): 1-2. 3-4. 5-6/ Mt 18: 15-20
From today’s readings: “Then the cherubim lifted their wings, and the wheels went along with them, while up above them was the glory of the God of Israel.... The glory of the Lord is higher than the skies.... Jesus said to His disciples: ‘If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone.’ ”
Fraternal Correction
The Christian faith is not so much a package of beliefs as it is a personal relationship of love with Jesus Christ. But although we Christians are disciples and followers of Jesus Christ, and He is at the center of our faith, our Lord Himself taught that faith can never be limited to just “Jesus and me” - our relationship with Christ is intimately integrated with our relationships with others, our brothers and sisters in Christ.
So, for instance, Jesus draws up a very practical and charitable program of fraternal correction, beginning with, “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone.” Our fallen human nature prefers to gossip or brood about grievances, but those approaches tend to merely multiply the faults - how much more constructive is Jesus’s method, which squarely seeks to address the faults in kindness. Most of us, I hope, can recall a time when someone we had wronged treated us in this way, making it much easier and more appealing for us to be reconciled.
Jesus outlines additional steps that can be taken if needed, but if the first step is only followed faithfully, there will be fewer occasions when recourse must be made to those additional steps. This very day, then, is the golden opportunity for you and me to prayerfully consider any case in which another has veritably sinned against us, and rather than gossiping or brooding about it, with lavish sincerity of charity, to simply do what Jesus tells us to do.
Ez 9: 1-7; 10: 18-22/ Ps 112(113): 1-2. 3-4. 5-6/ Mt 18: 15-20
From today’s readings: “Then the cherubim lifted their wings, and the wheels went along with them, while up above them was the glory of the God of Israel.... The glory of the Lord is higher than the skies.... Jesus said to His disciples: ‘If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone.’ ”
Fraternal Correction
The Christian faith is not so much a package of beliefs as it is a personal relationship of love with Jesus Christ. But although we Christians are disciples and followers of Jesus Christ, and He is at the center of our faith, our Lord Himself taught that faith can never be limited to just “Jesus and me” - our relationship with Christ is intimately integrated with our relationships with others, our brothers and sisters in Christ.
So, for instance, Jesus draws up a very practical and charitable program of fraternal correction, beginning with, “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone.” Our fallen human nature prefers to gossip or brood about grievances, but those approaches tend to merely multiply the faults - how much more constructive is Jesus’s method, which squarely seeks to address the faults in kindness. Most of us, I hope, can recall a time when someone we had wronged treated us in this way, making it much easier and more appealing for us to be reconciled.
Jesus outlines additional steps that can be taken if needed, but if the first step is only followed faithfully, there will be fewer occasions when recourse must be made to those additional steps. This very day, then, is the golden opportunity for you and me to prayerfully consider any case in which another has veritably sinned against us, and rather than gossiping or brooding about it, with lavish sincerity of charity, to simply do what Jesus tells us to do.
posted by FrPitstick | 8/13/2006
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