All of us know the experience of getting dressed in the
morning, putting on our very best, clothing ourselves in a way that we felt
absolutely great. We felt so good and looked so good that we
danced down the stairs for all to see. We were thrilled at how we looked. What
we wear truly does make a difference. In
today’s first reading, Colossians 3: 12-17, St. Paul encourages us, as “God’s chosen ones,” as God’s “holy and beloved” sons/daughters, to
put on “heartfelt compassion,” to clothe
ourselves with “kindness”, to array
ourselves with “humility”, to don “gentleness”
and to slip into “patience.” Sit back an
image yourself pulling those “outfits”
out of your closet! Then, Paul says, “over
all these put on love.”
The Lord modeled this wardrobe for us as He walked the face
of this earth, died on Calvary after being stripped of his earthly wardrobe,
nailed to the cross, left to die and rose again. Every day of our lives, from birth to this
very day, the Lord wants to clothe us with patience, gentleness, humility, kindness,
mercy and compassion. And over all of these virtues, God wills to give us love,
a love poured out for us on Calvary and bequeathed to us in each of the
sacraments and in our love for others and other’s love for us, especially that of our
parents and/or significant other. Is my heart receptive of the “clothing” given
from above, the only clothing that will matter when I stand before the gate of
heaven at the end of my life?
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