EXAMINING OURSELVES FIRST - 6/20/22 (Monday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time)

Matthew 7:3-5

Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove that splinter from your eye,’ while the wooden beam is in your eye? You hypocrite, remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother’s eye.”

For the full readings, click here: 

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/062022.cfm

For more information on examination of conscience and guide to confession, click here:

https://mycatholic.life/catholic-prayers/examination-of-conscience/

Blessed Monday! Sometimes, when a person is too passionate in desiring for the betterment of a person, he may go too far and tell, in a very forcing and uncharitable way, the other person to change his ways. However, when we hear some critiques of our actions, we may also fall to another extreme. It's when we accuse others of being "hypocrites", and we may make an excuse that because all of us are sinners, no one has the right to tell us what is right or what is wrong. Both of these situations are actually not in accordance to the teachings of Christ. His commandment to evangelize does not mean that we just speak without practicing prudence while His warning against hypocrisy does not mean that we can just excuse ourselves and accuse anyone as such. Our Lord is reminding us to always examine ourselves when He tells us to remove our own wooden beams from our eyes first. We can practice this examination in at least three ways.

First, we need to examine our actions. It is important for us to reflect on the times when we are acting in accordance to the will of God and the times when we stray from His will because of our faults and sins. There are times when we are frustrated and angry when some people accuse us of wrong things. However, it's important first to ponder whether we are actually wrong in some ways. If we see that their accusations are not true, let's practice the virtue of patience with them and offer to God the pain and injustice we experienced. At the same time, it's necessary for us to do "examination of conscience." This is important for us to see the faults we committed during the day for us to know the areas in our lives that need to change. Also, this is helpful for the sacrament of confession. When we committed grave sins, we should immediately seek this sacrament. If, by God's grace, we only commit small or venial sins, frequently going to confession is recommended by the Church and the saints which range from once every week to once every month. We may research on "examination of conscience" in the Internet, we may also look at the link above. 

Second, we should not forget to examine our feelings and thoughts. When some people are angry with us, what do we feel? Do we feel anger as well? What do we think? Do we have negative thoughts about them? As human beings, it's natural for us to feel intense emotions when some people confront us or when we see their sins. However, anger becomes a sin when we dwell on it, entertain it or prolong it. Jesus is telling us to not allow our souls to be disturbed, no matter how difficult the situation is. We can know that we are following the will of God if we are always at peace, even if we are at the negative points in our lives. Having high or low emotions are signs from God for us to turn to Him and avoid engaging in conversations for the mean time in order to avoid committing sins. By praying to God, we can obtain the grace to submit to the will of God and to replace the lies that we think with the truths based on the teachings of Christ. 

Lastly, we need to also examine the reasons why we committed an action or the intention for our actions. What are the reasons that make us fall to sin? What are the things that trigger us to be angry towards our neighbors? Knowing these reasons will aid us to avoid them in the future. Let's pray to God for the grace to do better and resist the temptations that we face everyday. Also, if we discern that it's God's will for us to tell others their faults, it is good to know our intentions behind it. Do we want to help them to follow God? Or, do we want to belittle them because of their sins? We may be discouraged as we realize the difficulty of examining ourselves. But, Jesus is always inviting us to trust that He will transform us despite our own weaknesses. May we choose to love God and our neighbors because we will be judged by our Merciful Lord through our love. 

Amen +

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, be with us always until the hour of our death. Amen. +

 

May the Lord + bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen. +  

Reflection by: Dominic