Our Venerable Mother Pelagia
Philippians 3:8-19; Luke 7:31-35
Abstention from meat and foods that contain meat
Read Luke 7:31-35
Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!
How often do we truly see things as they are rather than how we might like them to be or insist that they should be? Our biases and prejudices can so often cloud our ability to discern and accept what is true, whether that is about a certain person or about a certain subject. Our ideologies and prejudices can blind us to what is in front of us; this is the message of today’s Gospel. Are we self-aware? Where do we get our information from and how do we make use of that information? Do we carefully assess the information we read and hear, or do we always accept what we are told without question no matter what the source? Do we put forth false information to others in order to mislead them? Do we seek to bring others around to our opinion in an attempt to advance an ideology that may not be in concert with the truth? Do we falsely judge others because of the views they hold?
Brothers and sisters, we are not children who are not in a position to critique their parents about why they should eat their veggies or why too much time looking at screens is not good for them. We are adults and we have a duty to exercise our reason and our intellectual faculties in an ordered way towards the pursuit of truth. This means taking the time to carefully weigh all available information in order to act rightly and justly. It means that we consider how our decisions affect both ourselves and those around us. It means wisely judging the sources of information we consult and not being swayed by conspiracy theories. It means tempering our judgement with humility and with love so that we might always seek to pursue what is good and true.