Thursday of the 17th
Week of Ordinary Time – Matthew 13:47-53
In today’s gospel passage, Jesus tells his disciples that
the Kingdom of Heaven is like a net that is thrown into the sea. Naturally the
net collects a variety of species of fish and other objects. When the net is full, the men haul it ashore. However, the net typically will collect more
than fish, including random objects or species of sea life that were not useful
for their purposes. Thus, when the
fishermen brought the net ashore, they had to separate what was good and edible
from what was not useful. Naturally,
they discarded what they could not use.
Jesus then proposes another analogy. He tells his disciples: “The angels will
separate the wicked from the righteous and the wicked will be thrown into a
fiery furnace where there will be much wailing and gnashing of teeth.”
It is easy for us to categorize ourselves as either
righteous or wicked, but I assume that we exhibit a bit of each quality, depending
on what is happening in our lives.
However, when we become aware that we are in a “wicked” or unproductive
space, we have opportunity to move toward a “righteous” or peaceful space!
Today I invite you to be aware and alert! Forgive yourself if you realize that you are griping,
upset, or tense today. Then consciously
move into a peaceful and loving stance.
What do you experience in this process?
Hopefully, you will like the difference.
We can choose our moods and our attitudes!
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