Tuesday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time
Intention: For a spirit of conversion within all people, that we will open our hearts to the ways of God and the needs of his people, especially those who suffer the injuries of the world’s injustice.
Today’s Gospel | Luke 8:19-21
The mother of Jesus and his brothers came to him but were unable to join him because of the crowd. He was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside and they wish to see you.” He said to them in reply, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it.”
From the Twelfth Meditation for the Time of Retreat | Saint John Baptist de La Salle
The result of a wise correction is that those receiving it are disposed to correct their faults, whereas when correction is administered through passion and without God in view, it serves only to turn the disciple against his teacher and to arouse in him feelings of revenge and ill will, which sometimes last a long time, because results are generally related and similar to the cause that produces them.
If, then, you want your corrections to have the results they ought to have, administer them in a way that can please God and those who receive them. Take care, above all, that it be charity and zeal for the salvation of the souls of your students that lead you to correct them. Show them so much kindness when you give corrections that although you might cause them pain, they will not be angry at you but will show you gratitude for the good you have done for them, great regret for their faults, and a firm intention not to commit them again. From this very moment, be disposed to use the means needed to carry out this resolution.
Prayer
Eternal Father, you want us to share in your life, to play our part in your plan for the world’s salvation. You ask us to be instruments of your presence wherever we are: the home we live in, the neighborhood we belong to, the places where we spend our day. May each of these be the focus of our prayer and of the good that we do today. May your word grow stronger and stronger within us as we come together in faith, compassion, and caring as one family joined by your love. We ask this of you who lives and reigns with your Son and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.