hate

Genesis 37:3-28; Ps 105 Remember the marvels the Lord has done; Matthew 21:33-46

Here is a line form todays first reading, "they hated him somuch that they would not even greet him."

This is a comment on the way joseph's brothers reacted to the love Jacob had for their brother joseph.

Now, it is probably true that Jacob held an inordinate love for joseph and showed his favor above his other chidlren. This is a warning to all parents.

Favortism can be deadly in a family. For all yor parents out there, i invite you stop and examine yourselves in how you treat your children. If you discover a discrepency in your deaings toward then for Lent perhaps you can make the attempt to bring more balance to their lives and to the family setting as well. Remember the family is the domestic church.

Secondly think about that line again and the feelings of resentment and anger that has grown in to the hearts of the Joseph's brothers, "they hated him so much they would not even greet him."

I am certain many of us have been on both sides of this reality. We have experienced the hatred of another and we have felt those feelings of resentment and anger grow within us as well.

Anger is one of the seven deadly sins. It is important to remember that anger affects the one who has anger more than the other to whom it is directed.

Anger hardens the heart making it like pentrified wood.

We must tread carefully.

How do we overcome the feelings of resentment and anger?

We must remember that these feelings are feelings and we must move through them with out letting them determine our course of action. It is the will and intellect that must subvert the feelings and put them in place.

This is why Jesus tells us to loev our enemies, bless those who curse us, and do good to those who hurt us. Love is a matter of the will not the emotions.

We must pray for those who we have those feelings toward.
We must seek to do good to them and thus allowing the good action to bring healing to us.

We must, everytime we experiecne that resentment and anger, lift our heart to God in prayer and invite his healing grace to restore and renew us.

We must practice this continually so as to not let anger destoys us.

The word absolution that we use to describe the gift of forgiveness in the sacrament of reconciliation, means or siginifies to losen.

This is what prayer does, it losens the bondage that develops from resentment and anger.

Besides, as St. James tells us , "love covers a multitude of sins."