17th Sunday after Pentecost 2012
St. Paul tells us that we must live the life of holiness to which we have all been called.  When we speak of our neighbor we refer to both our friends and enemies.  Everything that happens to us comes from God.  He controls the universe and wills everything except for sin itself.  It should be easy for us to practice patience and forbearance, if we see all the actions of our neighbor as directly willed or at least permitted by God.  Our enemies provide crosses for us to carry with patience and provide us with the opportunities to practice virtue.  We do not know the conscience of our neighbor, but we know all the graces we have received and the malice of our own souls.  How easy it should be to judge ourselves harshly while being slow to judge our neighbor.
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