Holy Spirit of God, protect me from the hands of those who hate me…

 
Matthew 21: 33-46

 
The difference between the hands of God and the hands of those who hate me is that God’s hands heal and haters’ hands hurt. In the winter, out of haste, I don’t always wear gloves when doing outdoor chores.  The small fissures that open up beside my finger nails from repeated freezings remind me that wearing gloves is better because my thumbs in particular become so painful to touch. Fortunately, the application of ointment helps. Within minutes of applying a thick layer of zinc cream, the sore spots are soothed and protected from further immediate harm. God’s protection is like healing ointment.  It is not just a glove that I put on and take off at will. It is a soothing ointment that I knowingly select, that softens, penetrates, heals and soothes me from the bumps and bangs of life, and protects me from the infection of evil entering the ‘blood stream’ of my being.  It is good to keep the protection of God’s mercy ‘on hand’. Unlike the self-made and sin-full Pharisees and scribes who did not use God’s mercy, Jesus, who personified the mercy of God, well knew the healing and protective qualities of his Father’s love. Even when he was suffering excruciating pain on the cross at the hands of those who hated him, Jesus was still able to receive the unconditional love of his Father and apply it like an ointment to the lives of all who witnessed his crucifixion and realized he was the Messiah. Even for those who had participated in his torture and death, the Son of God who was the Son on Man, held out the ointment of salvation to his accusers and torturers, by asking his Father to forgive those who did not know what they were doing. Will I keep the protective ointment of God’s great mercy always ‘on hand’ to soothe not only my own soul, but the souls of others? Holy Spirit of God, protect me from the hands of all who hate me.  
 
The Lord, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life form the Pit, crowns you with steadfast love and mercy.  (Psalm 103)  
 
A single act of love makes the soul return to life... The Cross is the school of love.
Saint Maximilian Kolbe
 
Soli ad gloriam Dei
Gospel Mystery of the Day on FaceBook & www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca