Sunday, February 23, 2020

7th Sunday in Ordinary Time: Perfection in God

Today's readings remind us that we have to seek holiness and be merciful. We are the temples of the Holy Spirit. This means that God literally dwells in us. In effect, we are walking tabernacles of sorts. In fact, the Blessed Sacrament was meant specifically for us, not to be stored in a Church. This is why we must make use of the Sacraments often, especially Reconciliation and Holy Communion.  This, along with spiritual exercises and works of mercy and charity wil help us grow in holiness. You will find that no saint canonized by the Church has ever become holy without the aforementioned. The Gospel tells us that we must not be vengeful. I know there are people out there that drive us to drink; however, we must bear with one another. We must try to be understanding. Human beings are fallen creatures. They will fail and fail again in everything. This is the result of Original Sin. Human nature has been scarred. 

We must be perfect as the Father is perfect, Jesus tells us. These words on their own are worthy of a long reflection. Jesus tells us that God is our Father!  This means Jesus is our brother!  How awesome is that?  However, what does it mean to be "perfect like your Father in heaven?"  This does not mean to literally be like God. No one can be like God, more less, perfect like God. What Jesus means is perfection in virtue, mercy and love. We must forgive others. An eye for an eye does not literally mean plucking out eyeballs. It is an ancient Hebrew custom pertaining to debts. Some fundamentalist take the words literally believing it to mean that we must avenge wrongs. Even some atheists take this interpretation and use it to attack Christians. We must be careful with these false interpretations and must looks at the exegesis of Scriptural verses.  As we approach Lent, let us try to be merciful with others and forve. If we use social media, there is no real reason someone should block others on Facebook, Twitter or whatever platform one uses. This is against mercy. This goes against the perfection Christ speaks of. God does not "block" anyone who wrongs Him or others. He is ready to forgive. We must do the same. 





Readings:

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/022320.cfm

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