Slippers

~~~ Isaiah 1:10, 16-20 ~~~Psalm 50 ~~~ Matthew 23:1-12 ~~~

The greatest among you must be your servant.
Whoever exalts himself will be humbled;
but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

If we humble ourselves before the Lord 

admitting our sinfulness he will 

make all things white as snow...white as the lamb's wool.

If we swallow our pride and obey his commandments;

we shall eat the good things of the land.

Conversely, if we resist and fight against the Lord

his mighty sword will slay you.

I recently heard that it is better to put on your slippers 

than to try to carpet the whole world.

I think this has a connection to the message for today.

To humble oneself is to put on your slippers 

realizing that you can only change yourself.

If you want the world to be a better place 

then you must begin with yourself.

It is only in pride that we believe

 we can or should make everyone else change.

Our responsibility is to make ourselves the best person we can be;

this is how to generate a greater change.

It is true that one person can change the world;

but only if that person changes first.

Jesus led us by example in so many ways 

throughout his public ministry.

We must live the words of the Gospel message 

before we can look at how others are living.

The Holy Father, Pope Francis, understands this very well.

His words and his actions are beautifully aligned.

His actions reflect his words...

his words are reflected in his actions.

What we say and do should compliment each other.

There should be no tension between our actions and our words.

Jesus is not fooled by the scribes and the Pharisees.

...they preach but they do not practice.

If we all look intently at ourselves during this Lent 

then we will all have on our slippers 

and there will no longer be the need to carpet the whole world.

Whatever you think needs to be changed in the world

begins with how you make the change yourself.

We are Blessed to be able to change.

Lent is a time for changing...

yourself.

Peace.