BEADS OF JOY 02-23-18
“First Be Reconciled”
©2018 James Dacey, Jr. OFS
My Friends,
Today’s Gospel: Matthew 5:20-26 (Teaching About Anger)
“For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. "You have heard that it was said to the men of old, `You shall not kill; and whoever kills shall be liable to judgment.' But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother shall be liable to the council, and whoever says, `You fool!' shall be liable to the hell of fire. So, if you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Make friends quickly with your accuser, while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison; truly, I say to you, you will never get out till you have paid the last penny.”
Reflection:
I’m not comfortable with anger towards anyone, I know too well how it feels to harbor such feelings and I don’t accept those feeling in my heart. I won’t get into the details, but our daughter ran away from home when she was 18; and it was all encouraged and assisted by some other family. This all happened within a few months of Chrissy being diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. She left on Jan 2, 2011. She didn’t return home till the end of 2013, we seen her, maybe 3-4 times during those 3 years. It was a very emotionally difficult time, especially with Chrissy back and forth to the doctors and hospital and now this. And unfortunately, because she was 18, the law protected her; rather than be able to help me as her parents. So, communications with her were cut off pretty much 100%.
How in the world did our family get through this? Lots and lots of prayer. My brain and my heart were so angry at her and that family; that I had to pray even harder and dig very deep to find a way to get through this multi sided wall of hurt that was all happening at the same time. Thank God, Chrissy and I had a very devoted prayer life together. We cried a lot of tears thinking how we were losing our daughter and soon Chrissy, that was tearing our hearts into pieces. Our only refuge, our only peace was The Rosary, day in and day out. Plus, Mass as often as possible.
I don’t have any magical answer here on how to deal with anger, but that’s how we managed it. It was not easy, and we were not expecting it, especially since Chrissy’s medical situation dominated our lives. Our daughter was the oldest of the three kids home at the time. So, you can only imagine the added stress this brought on with her not being there to help. But I will say now, it’s all water under the bridge. Thank God she returned home and spent those three remaining years with her mother, as Chrissy continued to struggle with lung cancer. I am grateful that she didn’t have to carry that pain and hurt if Christine died while she was gone. Our daughter reconciled with us and most especially her mom and the two became inseparable. She was here the day she passed away. I am grateful that in all that hurt and anger, we found peace and love.
Pondering these thoughts today: I think today’s pondering thought should be that of Eusebius, a 3rd century church father, he wrote this: "May I be no man's enemy, and may I be the friend of that which is eternal and abides. May I never quarrel with those nearest me: and if I do, may I be reconciled quickly. May I love, seek, and attain only that which is good. May I wish for all men's happiness and envy none. May I never rejoice in the ill-fortune of one who has wronged me. When I have done or said what is wrong, may I never wait for the rebuke of others, but always rebuke myself until I make amends. May I win no victory that harms either me or my opponent. May I reconcile friends who are angry with one another. May I never fail a friend who is in danger. When visiting those in grief may I be able by gentle and healing words to soften their pain. May I respect myself. May I always keep tame that which rages within me. May I accustom myself to be gentle, and never be angry with people because of circumstances. May I never discuss who is wicked and what wicked things he has done but know good men and follow in their footsteps."
LOVE YOU GUYS !!!!
Your brother in Christ Jesus
And His Most Blessed Mother,
Jim (The Rosary Man) Dacey Jr OFS
Today is Friday: We pray the Sorrowful Mysteries:
The Sorrowful Mysteries
1. Agony on the Garden (Sorrow for sin) –Matt 26:36-46
2. Scourging at the Pillar (Purity) –Mark 15:1-16
3. Crowning with Thorns (Moral Courage) –Matt 27:27-31
4. Carrying of the Cross (Patience) –Mark 15:20-22
5. The Crucifixion (Perseverance) –Luke 23:33-46
Thank you Lord for loving us so much…
Rosary Man Jim’s Sorrowful Reflection: http://beads-of-joy-blog.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-sorrowful-mysteries_11.html
MY FIRST
BOOK. More to come…
