Avoid Judgement

JUNE 26, 2023 MONDAY

Monday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time (Green)

CYCLE A - YEAR I

Lectionary: 371

Reading 1

Gn 12:1-9

The LORD said to Abram:

"Go forth from the land of your kinsfolk

and from your father's house to a land that I will show you.

"I will make of you a great nation,

and I will bless you;

I will make your name great,

so that you will be a blessing.

I will bless those who bless you

and curse those who curse you.

All the communities of the earth

shall find blessing in you."

Abram went as the LORD directed him, and Lot went with him.

Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.

Abram took his wife, Sarai, his brother's son Lot,

all the possessions that they had accumulated,

and the persons they had acquired in Haran,

and they set out for the land of Canaan.

When they came to the land of Canaan, Abram passed through the land

as far as the sacred place at Shechem,

by the terebinth of Moreh.

(The Canaanites were then in the land.)

The LORD appeared to Abram and said,

"To your descendants I will give this land."

So Abram built an altar there to the LORD who had appeared to him.

From there he moved on to the hill country east of Bethel,

pitching his tent with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east.

He built an altar there to the LORD and invoked the LORD by name.

Then Abram journeyed on by stages to the Negeb.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 33:12-13, 18-19, 20 and 22

R. (12) Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.

Blessed the nation whose God is the LORD,

the people he has chosen for his own inheritance.

From heaven the LORD looks down;

he sees all mankind.

R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.

See, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him,

upon those who hope for his kindness,

To deliver them from death

and preserve them in spite of famine.

R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.

Our soul waits for the LORD,

who is our help and our shield.

May your kindness, O LORD, be upon us

who have put our hope in you.

R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.

Alleluia

Heb 4:12

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

The word of God is living and effective,

able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

Mt 7:1-5

Jesus said to his disciples:

"Stop judging, that you may not be judged.

For as you judge, so will you be judged,

and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you.

Why do you notice the splinter in your brother's eye,

but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye?

How can you say to your brother,

'Let me remove that splinter from your eye,'

while the wooden beam is in your eye?

You hypocrite, remove the wooden beam from your eye first;

then you will see clearly

to remove the splinter from your brother's eye."

GOSPEL REFLECTION:

Arrogance can make us believe that we are morally superior to others and can act as judges over them. As Jesus' imagery suggests it is all too easy to see others' faults and remain blind to our own. Becoming obsessed with a small failing in another person can distract us from being aware of a much greater shortcoming in ourselves.

PRAYER:

Lord, it is not easy always to think the best of other people, though I know I should. Newspaper headlines are pointing the finger of blame every day; they see the speck in every neighbour's eye, and urge me to judge, denounce and sue for damages. But I never know enough of the story to form a proper judgment on anyone. I would rather leave judgment to God, and try to be godlike in thinking well of my fellows.

Stop Judging

JUNE 20, 2022, MONDAY
Monday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time (Green)
CYCLE C - YEAR II
Lectionary: 371

Reading I
2 Kgs 17:5-8, 13-15a, 18

Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, occupied the whole land

and attacked Samaria, which he besieged for three years.

In the ninth year of Hoshea, king of Israel

the king of Assyria took Samaria,

and deported the children of Israel to Assyria,

setting them in Halah, at the Habor, a river of Gozan,

and the cities of the Medes.

This came about because the children of Israel sinned against the LORD,

their God, who had brought them up from the land of Egypt,

from under the domination of Pharaoh, king of Egypt,

and because they venerated other gods.

They followed the rites of the nations

whom the Lord had cleared out of the way of the children of Israel

and the kings of Israel whom they set up.

And though the LORD warned Israel and Judah

by every prophet and seer,

“Give up your evil ways and keep my commandments and statutes,

in accordance with the entire law which I enjoined on your fathers

and which I sent you by my servants the prophets,”

they did not listen, but were as stiff-necked as their fathers,

who had not believed in the LORD, their God.

They rejected his statutes,

the covenant which he had made with their fathers,

and the warnings which he had given them, till,

in his great anger against Israel,

the LORD put them away out of his sight.

Only the tribe of Judah was left.

Responsorial Psalm
60:3, 4-5, 12-13

R. (7b) Help us with your right hand, O Lord, and answer us.

O God, you have rejected us and broken our defenses;

you have been angry; rally us!

R. Help us with your right hand, O Lord, and answer us.

You have rocked the country and split it open;

repair the cracks in it, for it is tottering.

You have made your people feel hardships;

you have given us stupefying wine.

R. Help us with your right hand, O Lord, and answer us.

Have not you, O God, rejected us,

so that you go not forth, O God, with our armies?

Give us aid against the foe,

for worthless is the help of men.

R. Help us with your right hand, O Lord, and answer us.

Alleluia
Heb 4:12

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

The word of God is living and effective,

able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel
Mt 7:1-5

Jesus said to his disciples:

“Stop judging, that you may not be judged.

For as you judge, so will you be judged,

and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you.

Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye,

but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye?

How can you say to your brother,

‘Let me remove that splinter from your eye,’

while the wooden beam is in your eye?

You hypocrite, remove the wooden beam from your eye first;

then you will see clearly

to remove the splinter from your brother’s eye.”

GOSPEL REFLECTION:

Arrogance can make us believe that we are morally superior to others and can act as judges over them. As Jesus' imagery suggests it is all too easy to see others' faults and remain blind to our own. Becoming obsessed with a small failing in another person can distract us from being aware of a much greater shortcoming in ourselves.

PRAYER:

Lord, it is not easy always to think the best of other people, though I know I should. Newspaper headlines are pointing the finger of blame every day; they see the speck in every neighbor's eye, and urge me to judge, denounce and sue for damages. But I never know enough of the story to form a proper judgment on anyone. I would rather leave judgment to God, and try to be godlike in thinking well of my fellows.

Love Your Enemies

September 09, 2021, Thursday
Thursday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time (Green)
Memorial of Saint Peter Claver, Priest (White)
CYCLE B - YEAR I
Lectionary: 440

Reading I
Col 3:12-17

Brothers and sisters:
Put on, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved,
heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience,
bearing with one another and forgiving one another,
if one has a grievance against another;
as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do.
And over all these put on love,
that is, the bond of perfection.
And let the peace of Christ control your hearts,
the peace into which you were also called in one Body.
And be thankful.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly,
as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another,
singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs
with gratitude in your hearts to God.
And whatever you do, in word or in deed,
do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Responsorial Psalm
150:1b-2, 3-4, 5-6

R.    (6) Let everything that breathes praise the Lord!

Praise the LORD in his sanctuary,
    praise him in the firmament of his strength.
Praise him for his mighty deeds,
    praise him for his sovereign majesty. 

R.    Let everything that breathes praise the Lord!

Praise him with the blast of the trumpet,
    praise him with lyre and harp,
Praise him with timbrel and dance,
    praise him with strings and pipe.

R.    Let everything that breathes praise the Lord!

Praise him with sounding cymbals,
    praise him with clanging cymbals.
Let everything that has breath
    praise the LORD! Alleluia.

R.    Let everything that breathes praise the Lord!

Alleluia
1 Jn 4:12

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

If we love one another,
God remains in us,
and his love is brought to perfection in us.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

GOSPEL
Lk 6:27-38

Jesus said to his disciples:
“To you who hear I say, love your enemies,
do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you,
pray for those who mistreat you.
To the person who strikes you on one cheek,
offer the other one as well,
and from the person who takes your cloak,
do not withhold even your tunic.
Give to everyone who asks of you,
and from the one who takes what is yours do not demand it back.
Do to others as you would have them do to you.
For if you love those who love you,
what credit is that to you?
Even sinners love those who love them.
And if you do good to those who do good to you,
what credit is that to you?
Even sinners do the same.
If you lend money to those from whom you expect repayment,
what credit is that to you?
Even sinners lend to sinners,
and get back the same amount. 
But rather, love your enemies and do good to them,
and lend expecting nothing back;
then your reward will be great
and you will be children of the Most High,
for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.
Be merciful, just as also your Father is merciful.
“Stop judging and you will not be judged.
Stop condemning and you will not be condemned.
Forgive and you will be forgiven.
Give and gifts will be given to you;
a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing,
will be poured into your lap.
For the measure with which you measure
will in return be measured out to you.”

REFLECTION:

Jesus uses extreme language to highlight the importance of our relationships to one another. We are to deal with others, mindful of how we ourselves have received the good gift of forgiveness from God. This reminds us of the words in the ‘Our Father’, ‘forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us’. When one has difficulties with others, it is good to pray for oneself, to know one’s own faults, if any; and to pray for the others, that they may receive the grace from God for their better self to emerge. Do to others as God has done to you.

Jesus, the love you speak of is not just emotion: it is a commitment of the will. It is extravagant and limitless, and it includes us all, good and bad alike. This is the true love that frees up the world’s gridlock of hatred, judgement, blame, recrimination and violence. It is an active loving based on going the extra mile. ‘The measure of love is to love without measure.’

PRAYER:

Lord, I am the focus of your indiscriminate love. Grant me a profound appreciation of this limitless gift. Transformed by this love, may I in turn show unrestricted loving to others-especially to my enemies!

Stop Judging

June 21, 2021, Monday
Memorial of Saint Aloysius Gonzaga, Religious (White)
CYCLE B - YEAR I
Lectionary: 371

Reading I
Gn 12:1-9

The LORD said to Abram:
“Go forth from the land of your kinsfolk
and from your father’s house to a land that I will show you.
“I will make of you a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
so that you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you
and curse those who curse you.
All the communities of the earth
shall find blessing in you.”
Abram went as the LORD directed him, and Lot went with him.
Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.
Abram took his wife, Sarai, his brother’s son Lot,
all the possessions that they had accumulated,
and the persons they had acquired in Haran,
and they set out for the land of Canaan.
When they came to the land of Canaan, Abram passed through the land
as far as the sacred place at Shechem,
by the terebinth of Moreh.
(The Canaanites were then in the land.)
The LORD appeared to Abram and said,
“To your descendants, I will give this land.”
So Abram built an altar there to the LORD who had appeared to him.
From there he moved on to the hill country east of Bethel,
pitching his tent with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east.
He built an altar there to the LORD and invoked the LORD by name.
Then Abram journeyed on by stages to the Negeb.

Responsorial Psalm
33:12-13, 18-19, 20 and 22

R. (12) Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.

Blessed the nation whose God is the LORD,
the people he has chosen for his own inheritance.
From heaven the LORD looks down;
he sees all mankind.

R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.

See, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him,
upon those who hope for his kindness,
To deliver them from death
and preserve them in spite of famine.

R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.

Our soul waits for the LORD,
who is our help and our shield.
May your kindness, O LORD, be upon us
who have put our hope in you.

R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.

Alleluia
Heb 4:12

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

The word of God is living and effective,
able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

GOSPEL
Mt 7:1-5

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Stop judging, that you may not be judged.
For as you judge, so will you be judged,
and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you.
Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye,
but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye?
How can you say to your brother,
‘Let me remove that splinter from your eye,’
while the wooden beam is in your eye?
You hypocrite, remove the wooden beam from your eye first;
then you will see clearly
to remove the splinter from your brother’s eye.”

REFLECTION:

Arrogance can make us believe that we are morally superior to others and can act as judges over them. As Jesus' imagery suggests it is all too easy to see others' faults and remain blind to our own. Becoming obsessed with a small failing in another person can distract us from being aware of a much greater shortcoming in ourselves.

PRAYER:

Lord, it is not easy always to think the best of other people, though I know I should. Newspaper headlines are pointing the finger of blame every day; they see the speck in every neighbor's eye and urge me to judge, denounce and sue for damages. But I never know enough of the story to form a proper judgment on anyone. I would rather leave judgment to God, and try to be godlike in thinking well of my fellows.