“The whole company of saints bears witness to the unfailing truth that without real effort no-one wins the crown.”  Thomas a Becket. Bishop.

St Bernard of Clairvaux wrote: “The humanity of God shows the greatness of his kindness and he who added humanity to the name of God gave great proof of this kindness.” Thomas a Becket, like Jesus, was killed for his trust in the Lord and his refusal to bow to political correctness.  Let us consider whether we bow to political correctness or pander to fashion, contemporary attitudes that sometimes seek to defend the freedom of one section of society against the life of another.  One instance of this is a frequent promotion of abortion as a solution to a woman's problems, when it only adds another psychological scar made by an action of death rather than love.  Another would be the saying “charity begins at home”, which hinders giving to charities abroad or just in another neighbourhood.  Another would be the idea that the summit of life on earth is to become famous and perhaps rich too, at the cost of the time it might take to think of others who may be less talented, or even at the cost of providing a rounded education to a youngster who might, by their talent, rise to great heights in the music business, or the sports arenas, for instance.  Pride is at the root of all this, and fear of being unloved.  But Jesus is love.  We can trust him in everything.  We can make our constant prayer “Jesus I trust in you”.

Lord Jesus, you who understand how we think, and all the temptations to which we are subject because we are the first thing we come across and we have a self-preservation instinct and false pride fed by lying criticism of others to whom we compare ourselves, help us to overcome these instincts in as much as they would lead us to prefer ourselves to others.  By the humility that you displayed in coming as a vulnerable mortal man, you showed us true love and understanding.  Please reach out to us and rescue us from all the mud and weeds of wordly life that choke your word and your example in our hearts, before we die from them for all eternity.  In Jesus' name, we pray.  Amen.