You're Gonna Get It Now!

Jesus said to his disciples:                                                     

"Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
"Stop judging and you will not be judged.
Stop condemning and you will not be condemned.
Forgive and you will be forgiven.
Give and gifts will be given to you;
a good measure, packed together, 
shaken down, and overflowing,
will be poured into your lap.
For the measure with which you measure
will in return be measured out to you."
Luke 6: 36-38

The messages that Jesus gives us should leave us feeling pretty good because they are all about loving one another, being kind, doing good, you know, the behavior that a Christian should be living in their daily life.  Today's message ends with a stark warning that some people may miss because they get all wrapped up in the thought of receiving a gift from God who is most generous.  The warning is there through the whole reading but it is most clearly stated in the last sentence. "For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you."   So, how you judge other people, your definition of what makes a person good or bad will be applied to you when you stand before God.  Can you live up to all the expectations you have for other people?  Have you lived your life without ever deviating from the rule you have set for others?  Few, if any of us, could stand such a scrutiny because we often find excuses for ourselves that we do not apply to others. 

So today I suggest we spend a moment or two reconciling our inner and outer selves.  Do we judge others using the same measure as we do ourselves?  Does the color, creed, or economic circumstances of another person affect the way we think about and treat them?  Remember:  The defects you see in others most clearly are the ones you yourself have a tendency to display.  Remeber too that God sees what is in our heart.  Make His job easier by making the inner you the same as the outer you. 

Prayer for the Holy Souls in Purgatory by St. Gertrude the Great

According to tradition, St. Gertrude the Great was told by Our Lord that the following prayer, each time she piously recited it, would release 1,000 souls (or a vast number) from their suffering in purgatory:

“Eternal Father,
I offer You the most precious blood
of thy Divine Son, Jesus,
in union with the Masses said
throughout the world today,
for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory,
for sinners everywhere,
for sinners in the universal Church,
for those in my own home,
and in my family. Amen.”