http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/032114.cfm
“The stone that the
builders rejected has become the cornerstone…”
Jesus was held in contempt by some chief priests and
Pharisees not just for the reason that he blasphemed or dissented from the
laws, but because Jesus saw into their hearts and laid bare their hypocrisy
before all. Jesus was pointing out to them what was missing in their lives of
public piety and sanctimoniousness: LOVE.
In our daily lives, we are sometimes forced to accept the
fact that our actions though seemingly noble are lacking the most important
ingredient and motivation of love. The love of God, which necessitates the love
of self and love of neighbor, often falls through the cracks of our lives and
eventually becomes absent from our motives. Duty, habit and pride quickly slip
into its place, silently but drastically changing the nature of our actions.
I like to
describe my period of involvement in volunteer work at the beginning of my
junior year as being a time of exponential personal growth and recognition of
purpose. However, I often needed to turn inwards and ask a question: in making
my time, skills and energy available to those in need, was I sincerely being
charitable or was this a way for me to be convinced of what a magnanimous
person I was? I constantly needed to remind myself that once love ceased to be
the cornerstone of my thoughts and actions, everything collapsed into a pile of
emptiness and vanity.
It is dangerously easy to cast aside the cornerstone of love
in favor of a more gratifying and self-serving approach to good works. I pray
that during this season of Lent characterized by prayer, penance and
love-inspired sacrifice, we may never dismiss love as being a mere building
block, but instead recognize it as the rightful cornerstone of our lives.
Doreen Ivy Bentum
FCRH 2015
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