"Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience," (Col 3:12)

Mt 13, 54-58

Jesus came to his native place and taught the people in their synagogue.They were astonished and said,"Where did this man get such wisdom and mighty deeds?Is he not the carpenter's son?Is not his mother named Maryand his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas?Are not his sisters all with us?Where did this man get all this?"And they took offense at him.But Jesus said to them,"A prophet is not without honor except in his native placeand in his own house."And he did not work many mighty deeds therebecause of their lack of faith.

Being ignored is one of the worst obstacles to love. By disrespecting someone, we kill the love in him, in his heart, but also stop its development between us. Let us remember that the miracles that Jesus performed were a sign of His love for people. Jesus healed not because he wanted to show off his supernatural power to people, but because he loved them and wanted good for them. Love always and most heals our relationships, it is the greatest gift given to us from God in this life, thanks to which miracles can happen, great things in our lives, such as: forgiveness of someone's sins and weaknesses, forgiveness of betrayals and infidelity, acceptance someone who is difficult or extending a helping hand to someone who is in need. We can do all this thanks to the love that is in us and that God has given us. It is an incredible force that unfortunately can be stopped by the equally powerful attitude of disregard. Even the Lord Jesus Himself experienced this, who was also disregarded and did not perform many miracles in the lives of the people with whom he lived in Nazareth. These words “without honor" are also translated as "despised", "disrespectful", which should not happen among the relatives and friends, in one's own home. Unfortunately, this often happens in our homes, families, workplaces, from people from whom we should expect the most support, understanding, compassion, patience. It is one thing when you experience disrespect from a stranger, and another thing when you are despised and disrespected by someone you live with,

someone you share your life with, someone you love and someone you trust. You are sorry that you cannot share your love with this man. Sometimes it's hard to love, but that doesn't mean we have to stop loving and turn our backs on someone. Jesus did not abandon the inhabitants of Nazareth, although they ignored Him. Love should never give up, even if it is rejected, trampled on, disregarded. Sometimes we will be able to reach someone's heart with this love, and sometimes not, but the most important thing is that we persist in love, because as St. Paul says: “Love never fails”, love endures everything. Everything, including moments of doubt, disregard, and even rejection. Many times people do not accept our love, not because they do not want to, but because they do not understand it, that is, they do not believe our good intentions, or they say that they know us, which means they already rule out the possibility that we can have a sincere, good will and good intention to love them and help them in their difficulties. So it was with Jesus: people disregarded Him because, in their opinion, Jesus could not be what He presented Himself to be. They predetermined Jesus' vision of Himself, assuming that they knew Him perhaps better than He knew Himself. Often people closest to us say: you're not like that, you're pretending to be good, I know you. This is where contempt comes in, which condemns love to exile, and introduces doubt, uncertainty, withdrawal. It is a pity, because something great, good, noble could have happened, something could have changed in our hearts, and all that remained was disappointment and a sense of wasted love that will never be regain.

                        Father Marcin Cwierz, OSPPE

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"Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience," (Col 3:12)