“I alone cannot change the world, but
I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.” - Mother Teresa
Gospel Text: (MT 5:43-48)
Jesus said to his disciples:
“You have heard that it was said,
You shall love your neighbor and
hate your enemy.
But I say to you, love your enemies,
and pray for those who persecute you,
that you may be children of your
heavenly Father,
for he makes his sun rise on the bad
and the good,
and causes rain to fall on the just
and the unjust.
For if you love those who love you,
what recompense will you have?
Do not the tax collectors do the same?
And if you greet your brothers and
sisters only,
what is unusual about that?
Do not the pagans do the same?
So be perfect, just as your heavenly
Father is perfect.”
So how do you grow into this
perfection that the Lord speaks about in today's gospel? Self-improvement
programs won’t produce the change, and neither will piling on Lenten
disciplines and spiritual calisthenics. It comes as you try your best to use
your talents and gifts in a way that glorifies the Lord and lifts up the people
around you. It comes as you focus on one or two roadblocks in your life: an
unresolved resentment, an unhealthy habit, or a skewed way of thinking about
life. Look for the things that keep you from becoming the person you know you
can become.
Today, ask the Lord how he wants you
to grow and change. Let him shine the light of his love on your heart. Let him
show you both the person you’re meant to be and the person you are right now.
Then come up with one or two things you can do to help bridge the gap between
these two visions.
Blessed John Henry Newman once said,
“To live is to change, and to be perfect is to have changed often.” As you seek
to hear and follow Jesus, may you change—and often—throughout this Lenten
season!