Thursday March 8th, 2007
Thursday of the Second Week of Lent
March 8, 2007
“Who can understand it (the human heart)?”
Jeremiah 17:8
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He was a monk who dedicated his life to prayer. There were a lot of people in the abbey and beyond who had big dreams for him. He was a brilliant man filled with the holiness of God. Oxford educated, many people thought he might well become the abbot someday and lead the whole community of monks as their spiritual father. I had the great fortune to have him as my spiritual director during two years of my seminary formation to become a priest.
He never became the abbot. Things never panned out. All the big dreams others had for him did not come to fruition. I remember at his funeral mass, how, the whole idea was brought up about judging him a failure as someone who did not nearly live up to his potential. The person challenging us not to judge his life, who happened to be the abbot, reminded us of the great mystery of the human person. We did not know all the physical, emotional and other things he struggled with. We did not know his human heart. While it would be easy in our human nature to say something along the lines that he wasted his talent, we should avoid going down that harsh path of thinking. Rather, we should uphold in compassionate prayer and embrace the infinite mystery of this human being who struggled so much in life.
We are so quick to judge! And our judgments can be so rash and severe without a tint of compassion. People have asked me whether I think people like Hitler or Manson are in hell. I tell them I do not know. Jesus is the one who decides and so I leave all that up to Jesus. But I do know that Jesus is mercy, within mercy, within mercy. I also know that I do not understand the human heart. My fellow human beings are incredible mysteries to be upheld in prayer and compassion. It is not my job to condemn others or figure out the sinner who is condemned after death.
You think you know the human heart? You don’t even know your own. Start asking questions to the person whose heart you think you know. Uphold that person in prayer and compassion as you listen to the answers. As we learn that the human heart is an infinite mystery filled with more sorrows and struggles and reasons than we could ever know, may our judgments be turned into compassion.
Live the confronted life!
+Fr. John
He never became the abbot. Things never panned out. All the big dreams others had for him did not come to fruition. I remember at his funeral mass, how, the whole idea was brought up about judging him a failure as someone who did not nearly live up to his potential. The person challenging us not to judge his life, who happened to be the abbot, reminded us of the great mystery of the human person. We did not know all the physical, emotional and other things he struggled with. We did not know his human heart. While it would be easy in our human nature to say something along the lines that he wasted his talent, we should avoid going down that harsh path of thinking. Rather, we should uphold in compassionate prayer and embrace the infinite mystery of this human being who struggled so much in life.
We are so quick to judge! And our judgments can be so rash and severe without a tint of compassion. People have asked me whether I think people like Hitler or Manson are in hell. I tell them I do not know. Jesus is the one who decides and so I leave all that up to Jesus. But I do know that Jesus is mercy, within mercy, within mercy. I also know that I do not understand the human heart. My fellow human beings are incredible mysteries to be upheld in prayer and compassion. It is not my job to condemn others or figure out the sinner who is condemned after death.
You think you know the human heart? You don’t even know your own. Start asking questions to the person whose heart you think you know. Uphold that person in prayer and compassion as you listen to the answers. As we learn that the human heart is an infinite mystery filled with more sorrows and struggles and reasons than we could ever know, may our judgments be turned into compassion.
Live the confronted life!
+Fr. John
posted by Patti @ 5:35 AM
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