Our reading from the letter of James today comes near the end of the letter in the form of encouraging words and advice that James has for the faithful. A lot of the advice James gives can be easily translated to our modern world. James talks about patience and tolerance today, advising us 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, 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 is why I see it as being very beneficial on our journey of faith to learn about the saints, both the 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.
No comments:
Post a Comment