Reading: Luke 6: 43-45
from St. Louis du Montfort: True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, #58
Reflection:
I've been playing a new game for the Nintendo 3DS called Animal Crossing: New Leaf. It's a simplified life simulator where you play as the mayor of the town. Oh, and different things happen in-game depending on real time. Each town has fruit trees that you start off with, and you can pick that fruit in order to start new fruit trees, trade or sell the fruit in the game. As you progress, other fruits become available.
The thing is, no matter what type of fruit...the tree looks the same! The only way for me to distinguish fruit trees is by what fruit it bears! Well okay, I have an orchard system so that my fruits are grouped together...but any visitors to my town wouldn't be able to tell the difference unless the tree has fruit. I suppose, for game mechanics sake, good fruit always grow! And they never go bad! Sometimes even perfect fruits grow!
God has created me to be good, for any of His creations are inherently good. I am to be a tree that bears good fruit (not literally! =P). But because I still have concupiscence, my sins taint the goodness of what fruit I'll bear. I'm not an Animal Crossing fruit tree.
Do my good deeds and upright behavior mean much if I harbor any evil within my heart? I think back to the difficult times I had in dealing with a particular classmate of mine. He epitomized most of things (on the inside) that I didn't want to be...and it frustrated me to the point of anger and condemnation, nearly. Yet, though I felt this way...I was still nice and friendly with him. But looking back, because I wasn't charitable on the inside towards him, I didn't make a sincere effort to be Christ-like for him. So, our friendship just ended up being rather superficial out of convenience and necessity.
Tainted fruit, in that case.
Response:
In times of frustration and anger and despair and the list goes on... I must rid my self of these feelings and emotions that hold me back from being who God calls me to be. The seed has been planted. The growing is happening. The fruits...must be good fruits. Not tainted.
I need to focus on redeeming the negativity found in my heart so that I can bear good fruit.
Ad Jesum per Mariam,
- JD
