8th Sunday in Ordinary Time, 27th February, 2022

Gospel: Luke 6: 39-45
Jesus told a parable to his disciples,
‘Can one blind man guide another? Surely both will fall into a pit? The disciple is not superior to his teacher; the fully trained disciple will always be like his teacher. Why do you observe the splinter in your brother’s eye and never notice the plank in your own? How can you say to your brother, “Brother, let me take out the splinter that is in your eye”, when you cannot see the plank in your own? Hypocrite! Take the plank out of your own eye first, and then you will see clearly enough to take out the splinter that is in your brother’s eye.

‘There is no sound tree that produces rotten fruit, nor again a rotten tree that produces sound fruit. For every tree can be told by its own fruit: people do not pick figs from thorns, nor gather grapes from brambles. A good man draws what is good from the store of goodness in his heart; a bad man draws what is bad from the store of badness. For a man’s words flow out of what fills his heart.

The Gospel of the Lord       

Donal Neary S.J.
Gospel reflections For Sundays of Year C
www.messenger.ie/bookshop

She must have a lovely heart !

Someone said to me of a friend - She must have a lovely heart! The Gospel today is about goodness inside and that we draw much from the store of goodness inside ourselves.

A way of looking at this is to wonder what makes us feel positive in ourselves about others and about the world. We have days when we feel truly grateful for much in life and in the world, and the store of goodness fills up.  There are days when the opposite happens, and Jesus speaks of the 'store of badness'.

The store of goodness is filled up in many
-a good conversation with a loved one,
time spent with an infant in wonder of how this child is and will be,
listening to some good music and admiring good art,
taking time to pray and listening to the word of Jesus in the Gospel,
finding time to pray with others at the Mass or in prayer groups.

God in many ways increases our store of goodness and we allow this happen. You can find your favourite ways of bringing out the best in yourself.

We know of people we meet whom we always feel the better for meeting. Prayer and faith should always bring the best out of us: give time each day to to allow the total love of God for us to reach us.

Another store of goodness is the goodness of self.. We can be too critical of ourselves and if so, we will probably fine we are critical of others.  Look his day into the mirror and give thanks to God for th e man or woman you se there.If you look on ourselves with love, we will look on others the same.

Lord teach me your goodness.

Gospel and Gosple Reflection are taken from  Mass Readings and Sunday Homily - Catholicireland.net