A Fact of Life

By -

It's a fact of life:  good trees bear good fruit and rotten trees bear bad fruit.  If you want to know if a tree is good or bad, just look at its fruit.

In the language of scripture, Jesus was warning his disciples, "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but underneath are ravenous wolves." (Matthew 7:15-20)

Good things would not come from false prophets.  False prophets could deceive people.  They could dress up bad things and fool people into thinking they are good.  This happens all the time today.  It certainly isn't limited to the time of Christ. (Don't even get me started on the pro-abortion arguments which fool some people and are extremely deceptive and dangerous.)

Can you name three things you thought were good but turned out to be deceptive?  I'll bet most of us can.  In fact, sometimes we can talk ourselves into thinking something is good as rationale for our behavior.  It can be a horrifying self-discovery.

In situations where I justify my actions by my intentions, rather than the reality of the action, I can discover a genuine appreciation for God.  I can discover that even in my worst moments, God protects me and forgives me when I confess to him in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  Talk about life-giving!  Thank you God for saving me!

Without examining myself and coming to terms with who I am, how could I ever know the mercy of God?  Everyone talks about the person who is mean, or the work gossip.  But what if after an honest self-examination I discover I am that person?  What if I am the wolf? How alarming would that be? 

If I think I am "all that and a box of chocolates," I will not recognize my need for a savior. 

Makes sense, doesn't it?

Most of us manage to justify what we do, even though our rationale might be skewed. That is exactly what Jesus was warning us about.  How often do you pretend something is okay when you know deep down it is not?  (Think - pre-marital sex, immodest dress, skipping Mass, holding a grudge, "borrowing" time or things from work, etc., etc.)

The truth is, with the help of God (which we all need), we can, and should, strive for change.  We can do better.  We want to be a genuine sheep.

When Jesus speaks of fruit, he is talking about what comes out of us, what is produced by us. What are we putting into the world, what are we saying to others, when we are promiscuous, or ill-tempered, or unfaithful to God or others?  What does our behavior produce through these things?  Is your tree producing good fruits?

While we must be careful not to deceive ourselves, we must also be careful not to deceive others.  And furthermore, we must be careful not to let others deceive us.  We have been warned. Watch out for those wolves in sheep's clothing, and cling to the Holy Spirit for guidance.

Janet Cassidy
janetcassidy.blogspot.com



 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

SAINT ELIZABETH, MOTHER OF JOHN THE BAPTIST- Feast: November 5

By -
Image
Elizabeth appears in the Gospel of Luke, where she is described as “righteous in the eyes of God, observing all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blamelessly,”.  I imagine that she was warm, loving and obviously a safe harbour for young Mary, who was not married when she conceived.  When Mary came to visit her, Elizabeth was pregnant with St. John the Baptist and in her sixth month: “Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And how have I deserved that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, the moment that the sound of thy greeting came to my ears, the babe in my womb leapt for joy. And blessed is she who has believed, because the things promised her by the Lord shall be accomplished.” 
Read more

The Memorare

By Helen Gonsalves -
Image
This popular prayer, a favorite of many Catholics, dates back to the 15th century and takes its name from the first Latin word of the prayer, "memorare," which means "remember." The Memorare is of unknown authorship, although it has been attributed to St. Augustine (354-430), St. John Chrysostom (c. 347-407) and, with more reason, to St. Bernard of Clairvaux (c. 1090-1153). St. Bernard's sermons on Mary were famous, and it was his Cistercian monks in the monastery of Citeaux in the 12th century who popularized the name "Our Lady" for Mary. The Memorare has also been attributed to the French cleric Claude Bernard (1588-1641), known as the "poor priest" of Paris, whose homilies contain passages that echo its words. No matter who wrote this prayer, it was Father Bernard who did much to popularize it, teaching it in hospitals and prisons, where Mary's intercession was effective in working miracles of grace. The first manuscript of the Mem...
Read more

'Greater Love: Richie Fernando SJ', a joy-filled Filipino missionary

By -
Image
 I haven't been able to post for more than a week as I was giving an eight-day directed retreat to eight sisters of the Missionaries of Charity near Manila. While I had some access to the internet it was rather slow. I had intended to make a post here on the murder of Fr Fausto Tentorio PIME , a 59-year-old Italian priest, in the Diocese of Kidapawan, Mindanao, on Monday 17 October. I will save that post for a later date. As I was looking for a video about Father Fausto I came across one about Brother Richard Michael 'Richie' Fernando SJ, a Filipino Jesuit scholastic who died while trying to prevent a troubled and disabled young man in Cambodia from throwing a grenade. That was in 1996 - on 17 October. Father Fausto gave his life exactly 15 years later. I remember the mixture of sorrow and pride I felt when I read of the death of Brother Richie, pride as a missionary in the Philippines that a young Filipino seminarian had given his life so spontaneously in order to sav...
Read more