12th Week of OT 2018 - Monday - Remove the speck from your own eye first (Nursing Home Mass)

In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches many lessons about the attitudes and actions that Christians need to practice: we need to pray, fast, give alms, we need to forgive if we wish to be forgiven, we need to be willing to make peace with our brother, and be willing to suffer for the Gospel.

We heard from the part of his sermon today where Jesus teaches his followers about judging others, the tendency to condemn what needs to change in others without willingness to acknowledge what needs to change in ourselves, criticizing others while letting ourselves off the hook for similar behavior.

If we are to live and witness to the Gospel successfully, the Gospel must be rooted in our hearts. We are to practice what we preach, to be extremely patient with those who fail, to avoid any semblance of moral hypocrisy.

So how are we to “remove the specks from our own eye” as the Lord teaches? Before getting into bed, it is an indispensable spiritual practice to examine our conscience in light of God’s commandments and the moral virtues.  To ask ourselves a series of questions about the choices we made, the attitudes we displayed, the words we chose to speak.

Did I treat the waitress, the cashier, the custodian, the nurse, my roommate, the stranger in the hallway, with the patience, the respect, the gentleness that is befitting a Christian? Did I hold my tongue when I was tempted to spread that juicy piece of gossip? Did I pray enough? Where did I waste my time on frivolous pursuits? Where did I fail to control my tongue, my eyes, my heart today?

Many of us put off the daily examine or engage in it with minimal effort because we are afraid to discover just how far from Christ-like love we’ve been.  Faithfully examining our conscience takes real humility—the humility to admit that my heart has a long way to go. But without humility there can be no growth in the spiritual life.  And if we are not growing spiritually, it is likely that we are stagnating, perhaps even rotting on the vine.

The Lord is always challenging us to grow in holiness, through the perfection of the virtues.  May we cooperate with the grace of conversion he desires for each of us, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That all Christians may practice the humility mandated by the Gospel mercy.

For all those who suffer from violence, war, famine, extreme poverty, addiction, discouragement, loneliness, and those who are alienated from their families.  May they know God’s mercy and be gathered to the eternal kingdom of peace. 

For all those who suffer illness, and those in hospitals, nursing homes and hospice care, that they may be comforted by the healing light of Christ. 

For the repose of the souls of our beloved dead, the deceased members of our families friends and parishes, for those who fought and died for our freedom, and for Eli and Cora Perish Cole, for whom this mass is offered