Friday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time
My great grandfather was a judge in Kansas City, Missouri. I remember reading in his obituary a couple of years ago that on the bench, Judge Joe McQueen would tell those who were being under trial “why don’t you plead guilty so your sentence would be less troublesome and light.” But if people didn’t listen to him, thinking that they could “skip around” the law, he would whip back by saying, “alright you asked for it!”
The Lord wants to do the same with us. He tells St. Faustina, “before I come as a just Judge, I first open wide the door of My mercy. He who refuses to pass through the door of My mercy must pass through the door of My justice…” [Diary, 1146] The Lord wants us to be with him in heaven, and if we have an attitude of “Well I really don’t need Jesus, I am a good person, I can do it on my own,” then we are greatly mistaken! We need Jesus daily, we need confession, and we need him in the Eucharist.
As St. Paul says in our first reading today, “I…urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace; one Body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one hope of your call.” No matter our state in life, whether that be monk, priest, married, single or whatever, our main goal is to get people to heaven!
Reflection by Br. Maximilian Burkhart, OSB
Posted in Articles for Lent, Daily Reflections, Lenten Resources