July 5th Post

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JMJ

"Never let evil talk pass your lips; say only the good things men need to hear, things that will really help them.  Do nothing that will sadden the Holy Spirit with whom you were sealed against the day of redemption.  Get rid of all bitterness, passion and anger, harsh words, slander, and malice of every kind.  In place of these, be kind to another, compassionate, and mutually forgiving, just as God has forgiven you in Christ."

(Ephesians 4: 29-32)

Christ said, "Blessed are the merciful for they shall be shown mercy."  It can be much easier to show mercy to our neighbors and friends at times, then to our own family members.  We can easily forgive others' faults, and make excuses for their behavior, but when it comes to a spouse or a child, or a sibling or a parent, we stubbornly dig in and refuse the same concessions that we previously gave others.  We think they should know better, or that they realize the hurt they cause each time they perform some callous action or say some insensitive word.  We allow resentment to build and believe that because it does not come to the fore we are not being sinful or causing damage to the relationship.  Or worse still, we allow it to burst out into the open and wound deeply the person we love.

Ecclesiastes says, "Be not quick to anger, for anger lodges in the bosom of fools."  Why do we allow resentment to build up?  Why do we embrace wounds and allow ourselves to feel victimized by others' arrows?  Why is it easier to accept humiliations and hurts by those we barely know and yet feel the pain more deeply by those we love?  It is the same for Christ, our Lord.  When we feel anger begin to perfume our soul with it poisonous fumes, we should think of Him who wept in the garden for us, whose tears flowed especially at the thought of those who said they loved Him but wounded Him still.  We recall His words to St. Margaret Mary:

"Behold the Heart which has so loved men that it has spared nothing, even to exhausting and consuming Itself, in order to testify Its love; and in return, I receive from the greater part only ingratitude, by their irreverence and sacrilege, and by the coldness and contempt they have for Me in this Sacrament of Love. But what I feel most keenly is that it is hearts which are consecrated to Me, that treat Me thus."  

It is very difficult to truly to forgive without holding resentment, without holding a memory of the hurt that was received.  But it is our call us Christians to do so, and it is vital if peace and unity are live in  the family. 

 " Then Peter came up and said to him, 'Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?' Jesus said to him, 'I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.' " (Mt. 18:21-22)

 Let us not only resolve to truly to forgive our family members' offenses, but also to be especially on guard not to cause any ourselves.  Finally, let us look to our Lord who suffers on the Cross, who hangs out of so deep a love for us.  Let us not wound Him, but comfort Him, be with Him there, and so be with Him in eternity.