Friday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time
A subtle and yet crucial misunderstanding that appears to be as pervasive today as it was 2000 years ago is the belief that perfection is a requirement for relationship with God. The Pharisees here and elsewhere cannot seem to wrap their heads around the fact that God would desire the company of the unclean, the guilty, the hurt, the wounded, and the broken. Jesus responds, however, by explicitly stating that relationship, healing, and mercy with those most in need are those things that He is precisely most interested in.
There is a passage from the book In Sinu Jesu that speaks to God’s desires on this point:
“Perfection is the fruit of friendship with Me, not a precondition for it. You, and many souls like you, are confused about this. My friendship is not earned, it is not something acquired by measuring up to the standards of perfection that you have set for yourself. My friendship is pure gift. It is the gift of My Sacred Heart and I offer it freely. So few souls understand this. You are sanctified by living in My friendship. All the rest is secondary. Love Me and believe in My unconditional love for you. Trust Me. Show Me that you have confidence in My merciful goodness, especially when you experience weakness, or shame, or fear, and I will renew the grace of My love in your heart. Do not give in to the feelings of guilt that assail you because you are not living up to the ideal you have set for yourself. I do not ask you to be faithful to an ideal. I ask you only to be My friend and to live at every moment in the grace of My divine friendship. All the rest follows.”
On this First Friday, let us renew our loving devotion to the God who seeks us out, who desires our particular companionship, who tends all our wounds, and who accomplishes all things for us in His incredible, merciful love.