IC I:14; 20^th Sunday, Year A

That things are not always as they seem is not due to the fact / that reality itself is deceptive, but to the limitation of our capability to judge things correctly. Now this is a great difficulty / since everyone has to made judgments, has to figure things out and decide what is good, what is fair, who is trustworthy, and so on. Furthermore, everyone tends to think that his own judgments are infallible, even though he knows / that in many times past he has been wrong. The disciples evaluated a Canaanite woman as unworthy of Jesus’ attention. Our Lord Himself–just as a test, however–referred to her despicable Gentile status as one of dogs! Who would have guessed at the outset that this was indeed a woman of “great faith”?

The problem of making judgments about others is complex. Native prejudices and ignorance color our perceptions. Then too, pride assumes its place in believing oneself especially competent in judging. Also, those who are more educated tend to think that on that account they are the more likely to be better judges of character: less prone to bias, less tendentious. Such a self-elevated spirit may only further remove one from a right estimation of things. Added to that, those who believe themselves beyond the rabble, more sophisticated, and who like to think that they do not judge others sometimes suffer from a worse malady: they may have assumed a libertarian attitude and so compromised their objective standards of what is good and bad so as to allow anything permissible, and thus nothing reprehensible. Woe are we! On the one hand we must make judgments, and–let’s not fool ourselves–we do make them all the time, and yet our suitability to make objectively correct analyses is in question.

Christian people often like to quote our Lord’s words to the effect that one should not judge others and take that command in an unqualified sense. Yet, as I have pointed out, everyone must make judgments (‘shall I deal with this person?’ ‘will I do business with this man?’ ‘will I entrust my child to this person’s care?’). And, certainly, we must not lose our moral sense: we must be ever sensitive to what is evil and try with all out might to resist it: ‘this is good; this bad.’ What we must avoid / is holding claim to know a person’s interior motivation and culpability. Only the individual (and God) knows these for sure. In other words, we cannot make that kind of judgment that would condemn a soul. That is for God alone: this much is clear. But the difficulty in judging yet remains.

The Imitation offers us the counsel of being diligent in judging ourselves but wary of judging others. I would like to dwell for a moment on the first suggestion, namely, that we ought to cultivate the skill of self-judgment. Making that daily examination of conscience is an important exercise of the Christian life. By doing this, we come to know ourselves better, since it is true that we are, in a sense, ‘strangers’ to ourselves, ignorant of many aspects of our character. We have to discover our weak points, we have to learn by experience where our evil tendencies may be. So often our defects are unknown to us; and this is a grave problem / since others often see us very clearly while we are blinded (by self love) to ourselves. One needs to pray for the inner light and for the humility to see oneself as he is before God. Every night making an examination of conscience, with the Act of Contrition, is a good way of developing and maintaining a more delicate conscience.

Returning to the matter of passing judgment on others, we have to avoid making what we usually call rash judgements, for these are sinful. I quote here the Imitation: “Very often some inner impulse or outward circumstance draws us to follow it. Some people are always acting in their own interest although they are not conscious of it.” The sin of making rash judgments is a sin common among the so called “devout” Christians. As they make their way progressing in spiritual science, in knowledge of the faith, in pious practices, the more easily they can slip into pharisaical haughtiness when it comes to the lives of others. All too often, I fear, this sin is overlooked in confession and thus real spiritual progress is impeded. Quarrels and disputes of opinion often harm friendships, even among “religious” people. The rule is that in the measure that one concentrates on the faults of others he neglects tending to his own defects; contrariwise, the more one critically examines his own life, the less likely will he be to accuse others of their sins.

What is one to do with this universal human problem? Besides the daily examination of conscience that I have already advised, the Imitation suggests that one should cultivate “the virtue of submission to Jesus Christ” to attain wisdom. This is not something granted in a moment, but progressively. But / it’s a virtue that is aided by love, a love that makes the acquisition easier. I want to quote the final sentence of this segment, which is particularly beautiful: “God wills that we become perfectly obedient to Himself, and that we transcend mere reason on the wings of a burning love for Him.”

What is humanly speaking difficult, divine love makes easy. Let us turn to our beloved Jesus and ask Him for this wisdom: to judge things aright and to become perfectly obedient disciples of his way of life, observing in effect, the imitation of Christ.