āLose weight fast with this one weird trick.ā
āThe investment secret banks donāt want you to know.ā
āThree things you should always take to a restaurant (number 2 will shock you).ā
Thereās something about us that loves the quick fix. The simple solution to the complex problem. The one thingā¦that changes everything.
Itās why we fall for clickbait online. Every. Time. Even when we know itās clickbait.
Why? Because we want it to be true. Not any particular āsecretā or āweird trickā in an online ad. But we want the idea behind it to be true.
Deep down, you and I desperately want simple solutions to lifeās complex problems. This is what clickbait is tapping into.
The thing is, almost nothing in life works that way. Just about everything in life is cumulative. That is, both the problems we face and the solutions to those problems ā are made up of the cumulative total of a lot of different stuff.
Thereās more to a healthy relationship than remembering birthdays and anniversaries. Not that you shouldnāt try to remember them.
But thatās only one piece of the puzzle. Thereās more to it than that.
Thereās more to a healthy relationship than trying to see things from the other personās perspective. Not that you shouldnāt try. On a regular basis.
But thatās only one piece of the puzzle. Thereās more to it than that.
Both are good ideas. Neither one by itself will do the job. No matter how well we do it.
This tendency in us? This desire in us try to solve complex problems by doing only one good thing? Thatās exactly what Jesus is pushing back against in todayās Gospel when He says,
āWoe to you, Pharisees! You pay tithes of mint and of rue and of every garden herb,
but you pay no attention to judgment and to love for God. These you should have done, without overlooking the others.ā
Jesus isnāt dismissing what may seem like small, maybe even silly, outer signs of faith.
Jesus is dismissing doing only the small, outer signs of faith ā to the neglect of our interior life.
Jesus is telling us to do the small, outer signs of faith. The Rosary. Prayer during the day. Starting the day with gratitude to God.
Because they create habits that will open our hearts to God and Godās love. Even when our interior lives are a hot mess.
Jesus is telling us to exercise judgment. To think before we act or speak. To be aware of the effect of what we do and say on ourselves. And on others.
Because exercising judgment will call us back to God. And will keep us from hurting others. And ourselves.
Jesus is telling us to love God. To let our hearts ā and our lives ā be filled with Godās love.
Because Godās love cannot be contained. It will spill over into every area of our lives. And it will move us to make a difference in the lives of others.
All of that together? Done over the course of a lifetime?
Itās nothing less than the sure and certain road to God, the path to becoming a saint.