Monday, October 27, 2014



Monday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time

(Ephesians 4:32-5:8; Luke 13:10-17)

A wise man once said that it is easier to act ourselves into a new way of thinking than to think ourselves into a new way of acting.  Developing virtue, the dispositions to act well, require practice.  All the thinking and hoping in the world will not produce a person of character.  The Pauline author of Ephesians surely will concur.

The writer begs his readers to “be imitators of God.”  He (in all likelihood the writer was male) urges the people to love by doing good things for one another.   They are to support the weak, to instruct the unlearned, and to promote the welfare of everyone. 

Sometimes we want to squirm from the challenge.  Imitating God seems too much for us.  And it is true that we are utterly incapable of imitating God in every way.  But God Himself empowers us to get beyond natural limitations.  Our imitations may never be perfect, but with effort they can both please God and help our neighbors.