Lent Retreat – Week 2, Friday

Jealousy is a terrible thing and certainly one of the most destructive forces in human relationships. In today’s readings the story of Joseph, and his brothers’ plot to kill him, reminds us how easily the love that we are called to have for our brothers and sisters, both in our families and in the Church, can be corrupted by sin. Lent is a time dedicated to the purification of our sinful desires and as such helps us to be more mindful of the ways in which we are stingy with regard to others. How many times have we all felt resentment rather than joy for another when faced with the prospect of the success of a friend or the colleague who has a talent that attracts the praise of others? We should remember that we will be far greater people by the pursuit of gracious humility than we could ever be excelling in any number of worldly pursuits.

Our Lord reminds us in the gospel that in God’s eyes it is often those things we regard as our weaknesses that we will come to recognise as our strengths, and those things we think of as our strengths that in fact block the way to our progress in virtue. Charity is the greatest of the virtues and the key to the whole spiritual life, since, for those who love God, everything will work to the good.