“HONEY FROM THE ROCK”
Daily Reflections
Tuesday, 27th June 2017,
Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time
Optional Memorial of St. Cyril of Alexandria
Gen 13: 2, 5-18;
Ps 15: 2-5;
Mt 7: 6, 12-14
THE NARROW WAY!
In today’s Gospel our Lord tells us: “Enter through the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the road is easy, that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it” (Mt 7:13). Our entire life is a series of choices. There are times when we have regretted our wrong choices and have been proud of our good choices. Today Jesus speaks about a choice between an easy and a hard path. We are often tempted to choose the broad and easy way and avoid the narrow and hard way. But human experience tells us that there is never an easy way to greatness in life. Greatness is always the product of hard work. The way that leads to Kingdom of God also is narrow. It has its own demands, restraints and sacrifices. To sin is easy and natural but to remain without sin is difficult because it is contrary to our inclinations. It requires self-denial. And the Gospel tells us that very few people choose the narrow way whereas many choose the wide and easy way. It is always a few who accept the Gospel in it’s entirely and live according to it.
One such narrow choice, is “to do to others as we would have them do to us”. We all want to be respected, to be treated with dignity, to be treated fairly, etc. But on an even deeper level, we want to be loved, understood, known and cared for. This desire goes to the heart of what it means to be human. We as humans are made for love. If we can recognize within us the natural desires for love, we should also strive to foster a desire to love. We should foster a desire to love to the same extent that we seek it for ourselves.
This is harder than it sounds. Our selfish tendency is to demand and expect love and mercy from others while at the same time we hold ourselves to a much lower standard regarding how much we offer. The key is to put our attention on our duty first. We must strive to see what we are called to do and how we are called to love. As we see this as our first duty and as we strive to live it, we will discover that we find much greater satisfaction in giving than in seeking to receive. We will find that “doing onto others,” regardless of what they “do to us,” is what we actually find fulfillment in. Let us make this the focus of how we treat those around us.
Prayer: Lord, show me the narrow path which leads me towards you. Help me to do to others what I desire they do to me. Help me to use the desire in my own heart for love as the motivation for my love of others. In giving of myself, help me find fulfillment and satisfaction in that gift. Jesus, I trust in You. Amen.
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