The massive difference between a splinter and a plank suggests that the fault we complain of in others can be very small compared to the fault in ourselves that we refuse to see.
“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” Mercy, as Jesus presents it, is not optional but the hallmark of being a child of God.
In the biblical tradition, being “blessed” does not speak of a moral attitude to be adopted. Rather, in the tradition of our ancestors in the faith, the declaration of a person as “blessed” is in view of a coming action of God.
The purpose of hearing the Word is to be “caught” by it, to have it illumine the mind and inspire the will so that it changes one’s thinking and acting.
Let us be the light that announces that Divine Love is here, present in the temple of our hearts. In this way in the daily experience of living, we witness the Gospel and the Kingdom already present and active.
When one has a longing so great that it surpasses human nature and eager desire, and are able to accomplish things beyond human thought, it is the Bridegroom who has smitten them with this longing.
Weddings are about human love that co-creates human life. On a deeper level, a wedding where the mother of Jesus is present, symbolizes the relationship between the divine and the human, how the two embrace each other to create vitality. The wedding symbolizes how God and people are united in love to co-create spiritual life.
The power of the Most High overshadowing Mary, and the Spirit descending upon Jesus in the form of a dove, are one and the same God breaking into our daily lives. God, loving us so intimately, leaves the remoteness of the heavens, and makes His dwelling among us.
Once you have seen the Light, once you meet the Child of God, you must change, turn, and go back to your life, your world, by another route.
Franciscans profess with their lives to bring the Gospel to people and people to the Gospel, so that the Prince of Peace may reign in human hearts.