23RD FRIDAY HOMILY IN ORDINARY TIME — YEAR B

23RD FRIDAY HOMILY IN ORDINARY TIME — YEAR B

HOMILY THEME: CRITICISM AND CORRECTION

BY: Bishop Gerald M. Musa

1 Cor 9: 16 – 27, Lk 6: 39 – 42

We often pick faults easily and judge others rashly and harshly. Jesus asks, “Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?” (Luke 6:41). Does removing the log from our eyes mean that we cannot correct others when they are wrong? Not at all. However, the way and manner in which we speak to people who make mistakes matters a lot. Our manner of correction or criticism can either help a person change for the better or humiliate and discourage.

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“We who are strong ought to put up with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves” (Romans 15:1). Criticism and correction may go wrong if motivated by the wrong reasons, such as shifting blame from ourselves and heaping it on others. Criticism may not be taken in good faith if it is destructive rather than constructive. Removing the log from our eyes means we must first preach to ourselves before preaching to others because we all belong to the fraternity of the fallen.

Two things that will help us discover and identify the logs in our eyes are self-knowledge and self-examination. Mother Teresa says, “When you judge people, you will have no time to love them.” Can we learn to deal with the faults of others as gently as we deal with our own weaknesses?
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