Father not only gave (past tense) but gives (present tense) the victory. We can be “firm, steadfast, always fully devoted to the work of the Lord,” since our “labor is not in vain.” How often we suffer from uncertainty of how things will turn out, despite our best efforts. But united to our risen Lord in Holy Communion, we can remain firm in hope that we are assured victory not only in the future but even in the present. How firm is your faith in Christ’s victory in your life? Where does the resurrection seem perhaps distant or irrelevant? How can you remain united to the risen Lord throughout the week? After Holy Communion 1. “Then you will see clearly…” Jesus does not teach against fraternal correction. Rather, He teaches the proper order required so that we would be better able to correct and so love our brothers and sisters. We more easily apply moral rules to others, believing that we see their moral faults. In truth, we more often see our own faults through others, who are mirrors through which we see ourselves as we are. Our reaction to our neighbor first reveals us to ourselves, teaching us where we must remove the splinter in our eye. Then, when we have removed undue anger and harsh judgment, we can correct our neighbor in genuine charity. Only by first applying the Word to ourselves do we know how the Word applies to others. By allowing Jesus to come in Holy Communion to remove our splinter, we learn from Him how to gently do the same with our neighbor. Where perhaps do you have blind spots or splinters in your eye? What reactions to others teach you about yourself? How do you experience Jesus’ gentle correction? 2. “For every tree is known by its own fruit.” Jesus distinguishes between the trees not by their leaves. Presumably, their appearance is similar. However, their difference is in the sweetness – or bitterness – of their fruits. Many people may speak well and sound mellifluous in their speech (the leaves of the tree), but we can tell the character of someone’s heart by their deeds (the fruit of the tree). As Christians, our words and our deeds ought to go together, just as the leaves of a tree help produce sweet fruit. Our hearts are known by their fruits – our actions, both in speech and in our deeds. To bear abundant fruit, we need to allow the Lord to prune us, sometimes even severely (see Jn 15:2). Then, we will give witness that we are truly nourished by His Word and His Body. Where are your words and actions not in accord with each other? How do you experience the Lord pruning you so you bear more fruit? 3. “A good person out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good.” Dr. Ricardo Castañon, a renowned neuroscientist who has studied the human brain as well as Eucharistic miracles, has researched the difference between how we remember negative things compared to positive ones. If someone were to insult us, we would immediately remember because of the emotional pain. But if someone were to compliment us, we more easily forget. For good things to sink into our memory, we need to meditate upon it and remember it consciously for longer than 20 seconds. Only then does it become etched into our hearts. If, rather than a “storehouse of negativity, By Fr. Thaddaeus Lancton, MIC Author Stepping on the Serpent: A Journey of Trust with Mary Shining in Spotless Splendor: Consecration to the Immaculate Conception
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