Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye? // Matthew 7:3
I rushed through the living room, gathering miscellaneous items from the steadily growing piles around the house. Everything had to be cleaned today, for no particular reason, other than I had determined that we had gone long enough with a messy house. I ignored my achy body, feverish from a flu virus that had slowed me down for an entire week.
“Just push through . . . ” I whispered as I scrubbed and swept with prideful indignation—determined to prove I was capable of productivity, even when I was sick. Surely, I could show how tough I was, and wasn’t that admirable? Therefore, as my husband and children looked on, offering to help, offering me rest, I pushed the dampened strands of hair from my face and said I was fine. With arrogance and shimmering resentment, I leaned into the hurried state of my heart.
Then the Lord in His mercy revealed to me that this was not of Him. My oldest daughter came down with the same virus, and I saw her hunched over the dining room table, bleary-eyed and exhausted, working on homework. I told her she had to rest and she said, “But Mom, I can push through . . . just like you do.”
This is the witness I was giving her. This was the false Gospel that I was preaching without a single spoken word, and Jesus was calling me to repentance, to see how I had harmed myself and my daughter with my pride. In the Gospel for today, Jesus says, “Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye?” (Matthew 7:3)
My dear sister, Jesus is meek and humble of heart. I lovingly encourage you to contemplate how you witness this truth to those around you. How do you witness this beautiful truth to your family? To your friends? To the stranger online who disagrees with you? Let us not be consumed by our pride, but rather let our pride be consumed by the flames of His most Sacred Heart. Let us be loved by our merciful Lover and find rest.
Leana Bowler is a wife and mother of eight little ones. She is a Holy Rosary enthusiast with deep devotions to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Her love for the message of Divine Mercy led her to become a Marian Missionary of Divine Mercy. She enjoys the miracles of family life, strong coffee, and encountering others on this journey to sainthood. She was a contributing author to And Hay Became Holy and Made New: 52 Devotions for Catholic Women.
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