I said to myself: ‘Into what tribulation have I come, and in what floods of sorrow am I now! Yet I was kindly and beloved in my rule.’
But I now recall the evils I did in Jerusalem, when I carried away all the vessels of silver and gold that were in it, and for no cause gave orders that the inhabitants of Judah be destroyed.
I know that this is why these evils have overtaken me; and now I am dying, in bitter grief, in a foreign land.” (1 Maccabees 6:11-13 NABRE)
How often are we brutally honest with ourselves?
In today's passage, King Antiochus, lying on his deathbed, is brutally honest with himself. He had always considered himself to be a kind ruler who was loved by his subjects, and therefore he was disturbed and confused to hear news that the Jews had taken back the temple in Jerusalem (which he had taken from them and desecrated). Realizing he was going to die soon, look at his change of heart! His regret is palpable in the scene as he connects his disregard for the people of Judah with his own demise.
Lord, save me from final regret! Change my heart now. Show me the way to love and respect other people, even people who would harm me. Help me to encourage and protect your people, Lord, rather than tear them down. As Mary, your mother who carried you in her womb, was a greater temple than any made by human hands, each of us is also a temple, a home for your Holy Spirit dwelling within us. May I recognize your Spirit in the people I encounter today.
Today, I will pray for a deeper respect for all people, the words to encourage them to conversion, and the wisdom and right timing of the Holy Spirit.
Mary, mother of God and our spiritual mother, whose own presentation in the temple we commemorate today, pray for us.
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