Daily Reflection
February 27, 2026

The initial impression of many to this Gospel is one of defeat. How can I ever live up to what Jesus is asking of us?Jesus expands on the commandments to make living up to the letter of the law seem impossible. “You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment. But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment..” and it goes on like this. I think, how can I avoid being angry?  Impossible. Jesus says earlier that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. But wait - Heaven begins now for those who love God, in my view. The Kingdom of heaven is as much an internal reality here and now, a reflection of our state of being faithful to the Word, as it is an after-death reality. I feel it is a state of being with Being itself - that is God. But we cannot host the living God within us if we harbor anger, resentment, jealousy, bullying, name calling. These things crowd out the love of God in our hearts, and we cannot truly manifest that love to others to the extent we are occupied with those things that kill our soul.

I ask myself do I have a grudge, an unwillingness to forgive? Do I harbor anger or resentment? Have my actions caused someone to feel this way toward me? Sure, sometimes how others feel is beyond my control, but if I can, I will approach anyone such as this with love, reconciliation, and prayer. Let them free up their soul space to allow Love to come in. Then you find you have freed up a bit of space in your own heart as well. Then you both enter the Kingdom.