There are many times when I have a friend come to mind. Some friends with whom I’ve not connected in a month or years, while there are others whose latest message I’ve just read. God has placed them in my heart and mind for a reason. I am not always able to reach out and speak directly to these folks, but they are lifted up in my prayers. In many instances, after the fact, I’ve heard that there had been some challenges to navigate. Some marriage strifes, innuendos, false accusations, or illnesses (physical, emotional, mental) to name a few of the situations. Recently, I heard that my friend had reached out to others for support and to help navigate a path for truth and justice, but then was judged or ridiculed because of the situation at hand; compassion and empathy were the farthest things from those to whom they had turned, even though many of them are ‘good, Catholic people.’

Today’s readings mirror these situations. The responsorial psalm pleads, ”save me from all my pursuers and rescue me, lest I become like lion’s prey…with no one to rescue me.” It is so hard to see your way through these types of situations. It’s hard to pray and keep the faith, through and with the grace of God. As the psalm continues, “ a shield before me is God, who saves the upright of heart.”  There is promise in the verse before the Gospel as well. “Blessed are they who have kept the word with a generous heart and yield a harvest through perseverance.”

Yet in the first reading from Jeremiah, we hear, “I knew their plot because the Lord informed me…” How many times in the Gospels are we told that Jesus knew their thoughts or what was in their hearts before he spoke to those gathered? In the Gospel, Nicodemus speaks up saying, “Does our law condemn a man before it first hears him and finds out what he is doing” as the Pharisees were ready to arrest Jesus because of his ‘breaking of the law’ through his teachings and miracles. If I am truly honest with myself, I see that I have done these things. I still sit in judgment or leap to conclusions about any number of situations. Am I too much a Pharisee?

Jesus faithfully ministered and instructed those around him who opened their hearts to the Lord God, his heavenly Father, as well as those who didn’t or wouldn’t. The disciples didn’t always understand what he was trying to teach them and they actually lived with Jesus for three whole years. How many times have I read or heard something and not seen the truth or even looked deeper for it? What does this say about the person I am to my friends or peers, to those who are in the media? What about me before the Lord my God?

As I encounter my friends, be it through social media, in person, or as they cross my mind, I need to remember to persevere with a generous heart, continually turning my thoughts and heart to Him.

Please offer the Act of Love prayer with me:

O my God, I love you above all things, with my whole heart and soul, because you are all-good and worthy of all love. I love my neighbor as myself for the love of you. I forgive all who have injured me, and I ask pardon of all whom I have injured. Amen.