Gospel

“These you should have done, without neglecting the others”

From the Gospel according to Matthew 23:23-26

Jesus said:“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.You pay tithes of mint and dill and cummin,and have neglected the weightier things of the law:judgment and mercy and fidelity.But these you should have done, without neglecting the others.Blind guides, who strain out the gnat and swallow the camel!“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.You cleanse the outside of cup and dish,but inside they are full of plunder and self-indulgence.Blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup,so that the outside also may be clean.”

The Gospel of the Lord

Inner Cleanse

How many times do we strain out the gnat with our spouse because they’ve made a mistake, only to end up swallowing a judgment towards them that’s as big as a camel? I think it’s time to clean the inside of my own heart before trying to clean the outside of  my spouse’s heart.

Applied to Married Life:

Carlos: Forgive me, wife, for all my judgments, for looking at you negatively so many times. 
Teresa: Forgive me too, husband, for not bringing out the best in you, but instead provoking you and bringing out the worst. 
Carlos: I forgive you. 
Teresa: I forgive you. Do you notice how, after this forgiveness, there’s a sense of relief and inner cleansing? 
Carlos: Completely. It brings so much healing to our Hearts just by doing something as simple as acknowledging our wrongdoings and asking for forgiveness.

Mother,

May we love each other as You love us. Praise be to the Lord.