Friday - February 25, 2022
Do not distress yourself on account of any distaste or dryness you experience in God's service. He wills that you should serve Him fervently and constantly it is true, but without any other help than simple faith, and thus your love will be more disinterested, and your service the more pleasing to Him.
-- St. Margaret Mary Alacoque
TODAY'S READINGS
FRIDAY OF THE SEVENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Lectionary: 345
Do not complain, brothers and sisters, about one another,
that you may not be judged.
Behold, the Judge is standing before the gates.
Take as an example of hardship and patience, brothers and sisters,
the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
Indeed we call blessed those who have persevered.
You have heard of the perseverance of Job,
and you have seen the purpose of the Lord,
because the Lord is compassionate and merciful.
But above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear,
either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath,
but let your “Yes” mean “Yes” and your “No” mean “No,”
that you may not incur condemnation.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (8a) The Lord is kind and merciful.
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and all my being, bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
He pardons all your iniquities,
he heals all your ills.
He redeems your life from destruction,
he crowns you with kindness and compassion.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
Merciful and gracious is the LORD,
slow to anger and abounding in kindness.
He will not always chide,
nor does he keep his wrath forever.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so surpassing is his kindness toward those who fear him.
As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he put our transgressions from us.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Your word, O Lord, is truth;
consecrate us in the truth.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Jesus came into the district of Judea and across the Jordan.
Again crowds gathered around him and, as was his custom,
he again taught them.
The Pharisees approached him and asked,
“Is it lawful for a husband to divorce his wife?”
They were testing him.
He said to them in reply, “What did Moses command you?”
They replied,
“Moses permitted a husband to write a bill of divorce
and dismiss her.”
But Jesus told them,
“Because of the hardness of your hearts
he wrote you this commandment.
But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female.
For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother
and be joined to his wife,
and the two shall become one flesh.
So they are no longer two but one flesh.
Therefore what God has joined together,
no human being must separate.”
In the house the disciples again questioned Jesus about this.
He said to them,
“Whoever divorces his wife and marries another
commits adultery against her;
and if she divorces her husband and marries another,
she commits adultery.”
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What are you complaining about?
Unless we live as a recluse, daily we have to put up with people who behave stupidly or do something hurtful and sinful. Today's first reading tells us: "Do not complain about one another, that you may not be judged." Is there ever a day when we don't grumble about somebody? Even recluses find plenty to complain about! Maybe we should spend a month in a monastery taking a vow of silence, just to get into the habit of not complaining.
When I pay attention to what I say about others, I start grumbling against myself, because I'm not a prophet who's "an example of hardship and patience" like James mentions. But complaining against myself is the same sin as grumbling against others!
In begging God to teach me how to guard my mouth, I have learned that if we must complain, we should tell our complaints to him and only to him. Holy living means compassionately loving people even when we have reason to complain. When we're too weak for that, God prefers that we say to him whatever we'd like to say to others, as in: "Grrrrr, God! Did you see what that Big Jerk just did? He nearly hit me with his truck!" And because our words melt into the silent love of God's presence, instead of swearing at the guy or giving him a nasty gesture, we pray for his protection.
The reason we like to complain is because we're looking for help. We're wishing (often unconsciously) that the person we complain to will step in and do something about it. Well, when we take our complaints to God, a most amazing response occurs. God gives us sympathy. He cares! He helps us by taking away our frustration, dissolving it into his love. Our blood pressure goes down. We even lose interest in continuing the complaints.
If you enjoy complaining so much that you still seek out another person's ear, here's what you can do; it's worked for me. Set up a little shrine in your home or choose a place at work that you can label your "sacred space". At a time when there was a Big Jerk constantly troubling my life, I placed a small statue of Jesus the Good Shepherd in my bathroom. When I felt overwhelmed by an urge to complain, I excused myself to go to the bathroom (who's going to stop me? hehehe). I knelt on the hard floor in front of the sink, looked at the image of Jesus, and prayed for God to bless the person who irritated me.
How can we complain while we're in sacred space on our knees? How can we complain while we use our mouths to pray?
Today's Prayer
Empower, Lord, true marriages consecrated to You, able to give Your life in abundance, serving in Your Church. Amen.
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The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”
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