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| Saint Margaret Alacoque |
(Audio)
Jesus tells us not to get so lost in detail and nuance that we miss the main point of his message.
but you pay no attention to judgment and to love for God.
These you should have done, without overlooking the others.
It isn't so hard to tithe on mint, rue and every garden herb. But to focus on justice and the love of God demands all that we have and all that we are. We just want to feel like we are doing it right, living correctly, and checking the boxes. We want this so we can sit contentedly in seats of honor, acknowledged by others to be good Christians, good people, and therefore valuable.
Woe to you!
You are like unseen graves over which people unknowingly walk.
We see the problem with this attitude in us whenever we find ourselves happy that someone else is wrong and we are right.
"Woe also to you scholars of the law!
You impose on people burdens hard to carry,
but you yourselves do not lift one finger to touch them."
In fact, even though we may well be correct in our arguments nevertheless our practice isn't much different from the rest of the world.
Do you suppose, then, you who judge those who engage in such things
and yet do them yourself,
that you will escape the judgment of God?
We need drastic transformation from the inside out. We need life for the parts of our hearts which still dwell in death. Only he who gives life to the dead (see Romans 4:17) can help. The one purpose of this gift of new life is love of God, and in and through him, love of neighbor. When this transformation happens we still attend to the little things but without neglecting the main thing. We still have concern for the truth, but we do all we can ourselves to help others bear it.
Only in God be at rest, my soul,
for from him comes my hope.
He only is my rock and my salvation,
my stronghold; I shall not be disturbed.
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