Reflection for the 8th week in Ordinary Time – Feb. 27, 2022

By Rod & Connie Determan, Notre Dame Associates

The reading this week is so powerful and will draw us ever closer to Jesus when we ponder about our beams in our own lives.  I think there are so many times that I believe if only my family and friends could be more Christian; can they be more patient, can they not be so snappy, can they be more understanding, can they do things differently.  The list can go on and on. It is not until I stop this blaming, criticizing, wishing they would behave differently that I recognize the gigantic beam in my own life.  Why do I have these thoughts when in reality I am just judging?

When I take time to recognize the gifts of love, time, generosity, from these individuals that I believe should change, then I start to look at them differently with less judgement. They are doing the best they can and are truly gifts in our lives.

When my son was in second grade, I had sent my folks their class pictures. I mistakenly sent my folks multiple copies in error.  My mom had called and said she was going to mail the extra photos back.  I received the package, opened it and left it on the table.  My son was not aware of the mistake and after a week he said to me “Grandma didn’t like our pictures and sent them back”. Wow – this hit me so hard that he was not aware of the entire situation and had believed what he had seen but it was not really what had happened. This always makes me try to not jump to conclusions or judging a situation when we don’t truly understand everything.

So maybe these individuals that I want to be more patient or more understanding or less snappy have a much bigger story than I understand and I need to chisel away at my own beam and reflect the love of Jesus.