Our reading
from James today comes near the end of the letter in the form of encouraging
words and advice that James has for the faithful. I mentioned earlier in the week how a lot of
the advice James gives can be easily translated to our modern world. James
talks about patience and tolerance today, advising that we should not judge and
grumble against our brothers and sisters. That
is one of the most common things I hear in the Sacrament of Reconciliation,
that we lack patience in our modern world and that we very easily get angry at
others. When
we look at the road rage and accounts of violence in the news, we see how
prevalent this anger is in our modern world. It is
easy to criticize someone, isn’t it, especially when we are looking in from the
sidelines and aren’t putting ourselves in the other person’s shoes. One
of the points of the corporal and spiritual works of mercy is that beyond the
works themselves that help others, these acts are to convert our own hearts and
transform our own lives. James
holds up the prophets as good examples for us to follow. That
I why I see it very beneficial in our journey of faith to learn about the
saints in our faith, put those official saints who have been canonized by the
Church as well as the “unofficial” saints, as their journeys of faith and their
virtues can be such great examples for us as well. Lord, give us the patience and perseverance
to do your will. Lord, help us to try to
understand our brothers and sisters instead of just criticizing and
complaining.
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