It is very easy to pass judgment on another, but it is very difficult to withhold judgment. Why is that so? Why might you find yourself easily passing judgment on others when you truly do not know their heart? There certainly can be many reasons for this sin; one of them is that some people do not even know themselves well enough to judge their own conscience. When this is the case, the person will be in no position to try to judge another. Judging another often comes from a heart that has little interior knowledge, understanding or personal insight. They feel this disorder within and project it out on others. This is helpful to understand for two reasons. First, if you tend to judge, stop and look into your heart. There is a very good chance that you do not know who you are, what your sins are, or how God sees your soul. Second, if you become the object of another’s judgment, do not be offended. Instead, use it as an opportunity to have a holy sympathy for them. Chances are that their judgment of you is a sign of their own interior confusion. This should evoke compassion toward them, not judgment in return (See Diary #1528).

Reflect today upon these two experiences of judgment. First reflect upon whether you judge and why. Also spend time reflecting upon the way you react when others judge you. Seek the truth in both of these experiences and surrender your own judgments and your experience of others’ judgments to the Mercy of God.

Lord, please free me from having a judgmental heart. You and You alone probe the minds and hearts of all Your children. Give me insight into my own soul so that I may continually examine my life in the light of Your Truth, and give me a heart of mercy that I may love others with the Mercy of Your Divine Heart. Jesus, I trust in You.

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Featured image above: Christ the Judge by Fra Angelico, via Wikimedia Commons