My Thoughts on 20/02/2021

In today’s gospel Jesus reminds us that it is not the healthy that need the doctor but the sick. “I have not come to call the virtuous but sinners to repentance.” Does this include me? Do I consider myself a sinner? Many feel uncomfortable with all this talk about sin and wrong doing. They object. We need to accentuate the positive. We need to affirm people and bolster their self esteem. If you talk about sin then you are liable to make people feel guilty and before you know it their will suffer from “Catholic guilt” and suffer from scrupulosity.

I like the approach of St Ignatius of Loyola, who at one stage did suffer from scrupulosity himself. In the first week of his Spiritual Exercises encourages us to become aware of God’s love for us and that God always and at every moment communicates lovingly with us. He encourages us to reflect on ourselves as we are held in God’s love. We thus celebrate what is good in our lives. As we acknowledge this goodness and love we also become aware of what prevents us from being happy. God loves us even when we are sinners. If we are to embrace and accept the offer of healing that Christ gives in the Lenten season then we need to accept our sin of ingratitude that can be so much a part of our lives.

Lord, help me to see how loved I am by you. Give be the grace to see my ingratitude and rejection of that love. During this Lenten I seek your healing. May my stony heart be changed into a heart of flesh.