TUESDAY, SEVENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Jas 4: 1-10; Ps 55: 7-11, 23; Mk 9: 30-37
IS GUILT BAD?
When they arrived at Capernaum, Jesus asked them, “What were you arguing about on the way?” when they entered the home. However, they said nothing. Because they had been debating amongst themselves on the journey about who was the best. The Apostles “stayed silent” because they were overcome with remorse right away. When Jesus asked them what they were talking about, they were embarrassed to acknowledge that they were engaged in a ridiculous quarrel about who was the best of them. Let us examine the lesson that the Apostles experience of guilt teaches us, nevertheless. Is guilt a negative trait? Is having guilt a bad thing? Is “Catholic guilt” the outcome of morality that is too strict? Regretfully, it appears that most types of shame are gradually fading in our society today, and many individuals are growing more persistent in their disobedience of God’s law because they feel “guilt free.” However, the truth is that guilt is frequently advantageous! Guilt can be a sign that your conscience is at work.
Perhaps, the lesson we should take from this encounter Jesus had with His Apostles is that it is good and healthy to experience guilt in our lives when it is clear that we have done something wrong. And it is good and healthy to be attentive to this guilt as an invitation to change our ways. After Jesus gently reproved the Apostles, He then gently taught them the meaning of true greatness. This is also the approach He will take with us when we humbly experience guilt for our sins.
Reflect, today, upon how well your conscience works. Are you blessed with a balanced, good and healthy conscience that does experience appropriate guilt as needed so as to guide you when you go astray? Seek this middle way of a virtuous conscience and allow our Lord to be your daily guide.
Response: Entrust your cares to the Lord, and he will support you.
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