“Lord, today I renounce my judgments of others. Please help me to see everyone through Your merciful eyes.”Reflection
It was a great day today! I was able to attend Mass first thing in the morning (ALWAYS the high point of my day!), visit Mom and take care of those few things that she needed attending to, and have dinner out with Marilyn, Alicia & LilyBug, and Sarah and Tony.
I had an experience during the consecration of the Holy Eucharist at Mass this morning that I am still trying to figure out. When I was preparing to receive my First Holy Communion about 50 years or so ago, we were taught that when the Host and Chalice containing the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ were raised by the priest, we were to bow our heads in respect then look at the “accidents” and confirm our belief in their Divine Essence by “beating” our chest 3 times while proclaiming, “My Lord and my God!” I have done so ever since---until today!
Father Joe lifted the Host high over his head and I beat my chest, proclaimed “My Lord and my God!” as I always do. For some reason though, when the Sacred Blood in the chalice was raised, instead of making a fist and beating my chest, my hand involuntarily made the Sign of the Cross and I proclaimed, “In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.”
The more I think about it, I realize the Holy Spirit might be reminding me that Jesus is present Body, Blood, Soul and DIVINITY in the Eucharist—a Divinity shared by all 3 Persons of the One True God. I’ll have to check with Father to see if I may be off theologically, but it’s the only explanation I can come up with.
After the early dinner, I still had time to drive to Fresno so I can get a fresh start to the new week at work. And of course, a two-hour drive means lots of time to think and pray and try to come up with a reflection for today’s blog. And, because I was low on fuel, the Holy Spirit provided me with a topic. (How does He DO that?)
As I arrived in Fresno on fumes, I realized I would have to find a gas station quickly. The first station was right off the freeway. As I slowed down to make the turn into the station, I saw a man on a bike just sitting at the pumps. I immediately formed an opinion in my mind that he was up to no good, and I would just be asking for trouble—or Heaven forbid, a handout!—if I pulled in, so off I went to the next available service station.
Do not judge. This is such a simple command given to us by God, but so difficult for us to follow. As I reflect on my days I like to think that I don’t judge others and that I am always doing the best I can to truly love my neighbor. Many times I would probably even say that I make it through a day without judging anyone else. But then I stop and think, realizing that speaking words to a person isn’t the only way to judge someone. I can easily get caught up in thinking the wrong things about my neighbors, whether it is judging them for the way they dress, dwelling on a past incident, or maybe just stereotyping someone. There are so many ways that I find myself falling short of loving others.
I find it very important to take time to find what is wrong in my own life that I need to take care of. It can be so easy to see what another person might be doing wrong, but if I continually point out the faults of others, I have no time to realize that I need to fix things about myself as well.
Mother Teresa certainly said it best when she said we can’t love others if we are judging them, and God has called us to love everyone. Knowing this, the decision to not judge should be easy. We either choose to obey or disobey God and by loving others, we love him. I know I certainly don’t want to not love God and disobey. I know many times I think that if I don’t put thoughts into words it isn’t as bad, but God knows our thoughts. I certainly want to do my best to think about my thoughts and make sure that what I think about others is how I can love them as Christ would.
So I thank You, Lord for allowing me to hear Your Holy Spirit twice today so that I can learn how to be a better disciple.
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