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.

The Fourth Saturday of Lent

“Never before has anyone spoken like this man.” So the Pharisees answered them, “Have you also been deceived? Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? But this crowd, which does not know the law, is accursed.” Nicodemus, one of their members who had come to him earlier, said to them, “Does our law condemn a man before it first hears him and finds out what he is doing?”

Sometimes we judge people even before we meet them because of gossip and second-hand knowledge. These opinions can color how we treat others and even cause us to mistreat them. This is one of the reasons why Jesus warns us against judging others. God is the only one who should judge another person's character. Unlike us, He sees everything and knows the context we don't have. He also knows the hearts of others whereas we only know what we can see and make assumptions based off of incomplete knowledge. This is why it is so important to be open to changing our opinions about other people, especially those we have the most difficulty liking or understanding.

Do we listen to or spread gossip about others? Do we prejudge people? How can we cultivate hearts that are not prejudiced, but rather loving and understanding?

O Lord, keep us from condemning others and instead find ways to love all your children.

Amen.