Eighth Station: Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem
Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem. Those who Jesus counted as close friends are nowhere to be found as He continues to carry His cross. There are those, like the women of Jerusalem who are there as He continues on His journey.
Sometimes the people in our lives disappoint us and are not there when we feel they should be there by our side. It is hard for us when this happens and we may become angry and bitter at those people. We expect them to be there because maybe we have been there for them and expect the same in return. It is natural to feel hurt because there is an expectation that you feel has not been fulfilled and that you are not as important to that person. When this happens we need to step back and look at the whole picture.
The next part of course applies to our own personal relationships and not that of the relationship between Jesus and the apostles. We have to talk to that person and see what happened. Maybe they did not know what was going on? Maybe things were also going on for them that they couldn’t be there? Maybe our expectations are to high for that person? Maybe they may not feel the same way as we do? No matter what one of these questions it involves, there still needs to be a conversation.
We need to be honest with ourselves and with that person. An open discussion needs to happen so a resolution can happen. It may not be the resolution you expected or wanted. Sometimes people will get caught up in what is going on with them and not see what is going on with others around them. Sometimes people may feel it is not there place to step in or that you do not want them there. Sometimes we expect more from people then what they are able or want to give. It is hard to get over these feelings and answers and sometimes there really is not a resolution that both people can except. The relationship will change when this happens and it can either get better or worse. It is up to both people to see where they go on from here.
The same is said when it comes to how God and Jesus are in our lives. We all have disappointed them in our lives. The disappointment comes from and out of the sins we commit. Yet, when we ask for forgiveness we are forgiven and move on from there. We will always be forgiven, as long as we are truly sorry. Think about that when someone disappoints you and they are asking for forgiveness or for you to just move past this and move on. Do not get me wrong and think that every time this happens we need to just forgive and move on with the relationship. Sometimes all we can do is wish a person well and pray for them. Only you can decide for yourself what you feel in your heart and soul is right.
Disappoints will come in this life. There is nothing that we can do to prevent people from disappointing at times but it is how we handle them that make us who we are. You can forgive and move on with the relationship, forgive and the relationship changes or forgive and go your separate ways. In each of those cases, the act of forgiving is there.
Until tomorrow, God Bless, and forgive as you would like to be forgiven.
Tuesday of the Second Week of Lent
Lectionary: 231
Reading 1
IS 1:10, 16-20
Hear the word of the LORD,
princes of Sodom!
Listen to the instruction of our God,
people of Gomorrah!
Wash yourselves clean!
Put away your misdeeds from before my eyes;
cease doing evil; learn to do good.
Make justice your aim: redress the wronged,
hear the orphan’s plea, defend the widow.
Come now, let us set things right,
says the LORD:
Though your sins be like scarlet,
they may become white as snow;
Though they be crimson red,
they may become white as wool.
If you are willing, and obey,
you shall eat the good things of the land;
But if you refuse and resist,
the sword shall consume you:
for the mouth of the LORD has spoken!
Responsorial Psalm
PS 50:8-9, 16BC-17, 21 AND 23
R. (23b) To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
“Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you,
for your burnt offerings are before me always.
I take from your house no bullock,
no goats out of your fold.”
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
“Why do you recite my statutes,
and profess my covenant with your mouth,
Though you hate discipline
and cast my words behind you?”
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
“When you do these things, shall I be deaf to it?
Or do you think that I am like yourself?
I will correct you by drawing them up before your eyes.
He that offers praise as a sacrifice glorifies me;
and to him that goes the right way I will show the salvation of God.”
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
Verse Before The Gospel
EZ 18:31
Cast away from you all the crimes you have committed, says the LORD,
and make for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit.
Gospel
MT 23:1-12
Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, saying,
“The scribes and the Pharisees
have taken their seat on the chair of Moses.
Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you,
but do not follow their example.
For they preach but they do not practice.
They tie up heavy burdens hard to carry
and lay them on people’s shoulders,
but they will not lift a finger to move them.
All their works are performed to be seen.
They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels.
They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues,
greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation ‘Rabbi.’
As for you, do not be called ‘Rabbi.’
You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers.
Call no one on earth your father;
you have but one Father in heaven.
Do not be called ‘Master’;
you have but one master, the Christ.
The greatest among you must be your servant.
Whoever exalts himself will be humbled;
but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
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