THE GIFT OF PRUDENCE
Source
Matthew 7: 1-5
Do not judge others
1 Do not become judges of others, and so God will not judge you. 2 If you are too hard to judge other people, God will be equally hard on you. He will treat you as you treat others.
3 »Why do you notice how bad others are doing, and do not you realize the many bad things you do? It is as if you noticed that in the eye of the other there is a garbage, and you will not realize that in your eye there is a branch. 4 How dare you say to another: "Let me take out the garbage you have in your eye", if in your eye you have a branch? 5 Hypocrite! First remove the branch you have in your eye, and so you can see well to remove the garbage that is in the eye of the other.
"He who is in good peace of no suspicion.
The discontent and altered with various suspicions is tormented: neither he calms down, nor let others rest.
He says many times what he should not, and he stops doing what would be best for him.
Think about what others should do and leave him his obligations.
Have, then, first zeal with you, and then you can have good zeal with your neighbor. "
These are the words of Thomas of Kempis, author of the Imitation of Christ. Despite being written more than 500 years ago, they seem to be taken from a reflection experienced this morning.
I especially like the expression that Jesus Christ uses in this Gospel, I would say that even with a certain sarcasm: "First take the beam out of your eye, and then you can see to take the speck out of your brother's eye ..." (Mt 7, 1- 5)
Not only abounds in the message of not judging others, but insists that you take care to remove that beam that we all have inserted in the eye and then, if anything, we can see to get the speck of the brother.
How many times in my life have I regretted talking about more.
How many times my indiscretion made me blush: because I told one thing that a friend had secretly entrusted to me and I, without malice, told a small group of people and in the end the news caught on like wildfire.
I regret that again, being especially excited, I opened my heart to people who were not my trust, and then it was very difficult to back down on what I said.
Or simply the occasion that I was especially critical of my brother, when I evaluated him harshly, I made reckless judgments ... and then I became aware of my own injustice because our friendship and my closeness to him were damaged.
I have asked God THE GIFT OF PRUDENCE.
If Jesus Christ has told me that as long as I judge they will judge me, I want to ask him to give me a wide, wide measure, full of understanding, that is very visible and that is what they use to measure me.
I have asked him to teach me to shut up. Be aware that if I keep quiet I will never regret it, but I will often speak.