Third Saturday of Ordinary Time

David grew very angry with that man and said to him: "As the LORD lives, the man who has done this merits death! He shall restore the ewe lamb fourfold because he has done this and has had no pity." Then Nathan said to David: "You are the man! Thus says the LORD God of Israel: 'The sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah to be your wife.'

Often, when we sin, we are blinded to what we are doing. We don’t necessarily realize how bad our sins are. It takes an outside influence, a person, an event, or something along those lines to rip away our blinders and show us how bad our lives have become. More times than not, we notice the sins and imperfections in others more readily than we do our own. We point out how unfair another person is or shake our heads at their wickedness, but fail to see our own failings, which can be just as unfair and wrong-headed. This is why it is so important for us to remember we are sinners and as such it is not our place to judge others. In addition, our failures should remind us that we ought to be looking out for the good of others, not to take advantage of them or criticize them unjustly.

What can we do to see more clearly our own sins? In what ways can we treat others more mercifully? How can we train ourselves to avoid sin and do what is right even when we are tempted to use a situation for our own selfish gain?

O Lord, free us from our blindness to our own sins.

Amen.