Forgiving Others For Your Sake
Welcome back my family in Christ. Sunday’s gospel talked about anger. Actually, it was the central theme for all the readings. Have you ever read something and immediately thought, “Wow! I needed that today?” Yeah, I did too. This topic intrigued me in the past and still does to this day. From my previous conversations we know that anger is a capital sin. It’s one of those emotions that’s not sinful in itself—but becomes sinful because what we do with it. I love the parable Jesus told in the gospel about the unforgiving servant. I think at times we all found ourselves in this boat before. We have an argument with someone and it hasn’t been resolved yet. Then we begin to say our prayers—particularly the “Our Father,” and we come across that line that is conditional. “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” How many of us recognize that it is conditional? I mean yeah, when we think about it outside of our anger we know it, but we never really think about it. The gospel today reminds us of this, and I don’t know about you but I really need the reminder. Anger doesn’t just mean you have to be at that point of screaming at someone, anger has so many levels. Did you know that resentment is a form of anger? Holding a grudge is also a form of anger too. Anger, although it’s a simple emotion to feel, it’s pretty complex when you think of all the forms of it. There is a great book that I read often, and...
The Grief of Today
I was watching two segments of the news the other day. What I watched was a raw human emotion—grief. The first was a father who lost his son in Seattle and how no one talked to him about it. The second was an 8-year-old girl who lost her life in Atlanta. Both were children. Both were someone’s child. Both sets of parents felt as if no one cared. But you couldn’t watch them and no feel their pain. The Office Reading we read was about Absalom—David’s son who turned against his father. People who took an oath to protect his son were the same people who ended killing him. Again and again, David made inquiries about the fate of his son. When he is finally told—in a kingdom that perceived Absalom death as a victory; to David, his son’s death crushed him, even to the point of saying that he wished her would have died instead. He wept because Absalom was his son. That was the same boy David played with when Absalom was little. He consoled his son with a skinned knee, taught him how to fight. That was his flesh and blood. People are tired and annoyed. What’s going on today is a reminder that these are kids. Adult bodies—yes, but the mind of kids. It’s sad because no matter whIch was you slice it, they are lost. And yet—they are someone’s child. On both sides that are doing harm—it’s being done to someone’s child. At some point, at the beginning of their lives they were held by someone who loved them. Which now brings me to...
Finding The Light
I was pouring over the news in the morning, and read that a cancer patient in NYC took his own life, after finding out he was infected with the Corona Virus. The nurses found him and tried to revive him but it was too late for him. This is how I started my reflection on what I have been doing during this pandemic. Since I was following it back in January, I have been watching and waiting for it to resolve itself. Slowly, I saw it move to other countries and knew it was a matter of time before it was on our shores. Fast forward, and here it is. My family is safe in our apartment, and while we have food, love, shelter, I still wish I could do more to help my family out. However, the more I attempt to do something, the more I find myself pulling away from them. I’m checking the news, contacting loved ones, and they are contacting me (about the news), everything is about the pandemic. Don’t get me wrong, it’s important current events, we are living through history, but, it’s not the only history that’s going on right now. All around us, amazing things are happening, people are still getting married, children are still being born (they come when it’s their time), and sadly, those will pass from other causes. The Virus has many of us running around looking for some sort of solace. We are looking for that peace of mind, that reassurance that everything is going to be okay. So we watch the news, listen to the President, Governors,...
5th Week of Lent — 2 weeks lockdown
It is the 5th week of Lent. It’s been two weeks since my parish offered public Mass. It’s been three weeks since I’ve sat in the pews. This season of Lent has been completely different for me and my family–as I can imagine it has been for every family. This week has hit me especially hard.