Hate to be Nice

Chiara likes to draw figures, Disney Princesses especially.  But this weekend as I was preparing her meal, I heard her saying "Where's the feet?" So I had a look at what she was drawing and saw a figure of Christ on the cross. She struggled to draw the Lord's feet so I showed her a crucifix to give her an idea.  She continued drawing and included people watching as Jesus hung on the cross. While drawing she uttered "They hate Jesus." I asked her why and she replied "Because he taught them to be nice." I asked "Do the people not like to be nice?" She gave me the affirmative.

Nice. Considerate. Sympathetic. Cordial. Courteous. Good.  Being nice has been a lesson taught to us since time immemorial, but one lesson we have often failed to learn.  When someone disagrees with us, we are annoyed. When another driver is taking time to cross the road from a junction, we become impatient.  When angered we become ballistic and get even with others. When we encounter a foreigner, we label them nastily. When we know someone who is a 'threat' to our popularity or position, we backstab them.

Lent recalls that moment when all of hated Jesus and His teaching to be good, to love one another as He has loved us.  So much was that hatred that we all connived to have Him killed on Good Friday. Yet, Lent also prods us to make peace with Him by turning away from sin (i.e. from being not nice) and believing in the Good News.

There is a famous prayer that we should strive to say this Lent. In our diocese, the bishop encouraged us to pray slowly and meditatively the Lord's Prayer during this season.  St Francis of Assisi (one of two namesakes of Chiara) paraphrased this prayer:

OUR FATHER MOST HOLY,

our creator and redeemer,

our Savior and Consoler.

WHO ARE IN HEAVEN,

in the angels and saints

enlightening them that they

may know you, for you, Lord,

are love, dwelling in them and filling

them with your divinity, that bliss

may be theirs, for you, Lord, are the

highest Good, the eternal Good,

from whom all goodness flows,

without whom nothing is good.

YOUR NAME BE HELD HOLY:

may our knowledge of you

shine ever more clearly within us,

that we may perceive the breadth

of your blessings, the extent of your

promises, the height of your majesty,

the depth of your judgements.

YOUR KINGDOM COME:

rule us now, through grace,

and bring us at last to your

kingdom of light where we

shall see you as you are,

and our love for you

will be made perfect,

our union blissful,

our joy unending, in you.

YOUR WILL BE DONE

ON EARTH AS IN HEAVEN

may we love you

with all our heart,

ever thinking of you;

with all our soul,

ever longing for you;

with all our mind,

directing all our aims to you

and seeking nothing but your glory;

with all our strength,

spending all our energies

and all our senses of soul and body

to serve only your love and nothing else.

May we love our neighbors as ourselves;

drawing them all to your love

in so far as we can,

sharing their good fortune

as if it were our own,

helping them to bear their trials

and doing them no wrong.

GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD:

your beloved Son

our Lord Jesus Christ,

that we may remember,

understand and revere

the love he showed for us,

and all he said and did

and suffered for our sake.

FORGIVE US OUR SINS

through your mercy beyond words,

through the power of the passion

of your beloved Son,

through the merits and intercession

of the Virgin Mary

and of all your chosen ones.

AS WE FORGIVE THOSE

WHO SIN AGAINST US

and that we ourselves

cannot fully forgive,

make us fully forgive;

make us love our enemies,

truly, for your sake;

teach us how to pray sincerely

to you on their behalf;

and not to render harm for harm

to anyone, but rather try

to do good to all, in you!

AND LEAD US NOT

INTO TEMPTATION

whether veiled or visible,

sudden or searing and prolonged.

BUT DELIVER US FROM EVIL

past, present and to come. Amen.

 

St Francis, in his former lfe, wasn't nice. He was a happy-go-lucky kind of guy. But everything changed when he encountered the Lord. May we also encounter Jesus this holy season. When we do, let us humble ourselves and be reconciled with Him. If we do, let's turn our hatred on those situations and attitudes that are not nice: injustice, bigotry, corruption, immorality, etc.  Warning: like Jesus, let us hate the sin, but NOT the sinner!