The gospel for Monday of the 12th week of Ordinary Time is taken from Matthew, seventh chapter, first through the fifth verse. Jesus said to his disciples, stop judging and you will not be judged. For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured back to you. 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 the 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 why do we judge each Other? One thing I know is that when we do judge someone, we tend to feel a little bit better about our own self, as if we don’t have those problems.

But everyone has problems. Everyone has something they need to work on to improve. So when we put someone down for having a problem, we’re doing something so unfair, but at the same time something so unhealthy for us, it tends to give us a false sense of being better. And the ego likes nothing better than that. Please reflect on these thoughts and after the music, I will close with a prayer. Foreign Closing Prayer Father, in the prayer that you taught us, you remind us that you are always ready to forgive us as we forgive one another.

Fill us with this gift of understanding, of patience, of acceptance, so we might free ourselves from that negativity that we often spread about people around us. And we ask this in Jesus name, Amen.