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Image credit is By Fyodor Zubov / Фёдор Зубов (c. 1689)
[Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.
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By
Melanie Rigney
The community of believers was of one
heart and mind, and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but
they had everything in common. (Acts
4:32)
The
Lord is king; he is robed in majesty. (Psalm 93:1a)
(Jesus
said to Nicodemus:) “If I tell you about earthly things and you do not believe,
how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?” (John
3:12)
Piety
Lord,
deliver me when I am tempted to compare the works and praise that I give you
with those offered by others.
Study
Do you start each day with the daily
readings… and shake your head a bit at those who don’t?
Do you log in hours every week or
month at a homeless shelter or food pantry… and feel just a mite superior to
your friends who don’t?
Have you at any point in the past year
served as sacristan, lector, and EM all at the same Mass (!)… and wondered
about those people in the pews who do none of it?
This community of believers we call
the Church is weakened every time we compare our journey with those of family
members, friends, and “those people.” The Lord places us on different paths for
reasons we may never understand. No one path to Jesus is inherently better or
worse than another. All require sacrifice, obedience, faith, and love. All
require sharing the Good News with others.
In today’s first reading from Acts, we
see how it can work. There’s no more of John and James vying for the best
seats. There’s no more of Peter doubting the Lord’s love for him. They were of
one heart and mind, focused on Jesus… and having that in common, they had
everything.
Action
Engage in
some spiritual self-mortification today. Don’t compare your prayer life or your
works to anyone else. Stay focused on the One for whom you offer it all.
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