“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.” John 3:17
“Who am I to judge?” Reflecting on today’s reading, this question immediately comes to mind, the same questions that Pope Francis used during a press conference in July 2013 that stirred up a lot of conversations. “Who am I to judge?” It can also be said that this is a question which emerges from the solemnity celebrated today, The Solemnity of the Holy Spirit. Consider then who are we to judge if the arbitrator himself – He who is love – send his Son as a remedy for our infractions and sins. He didn’t send his Son to judge us; instead, He send Jesus Christ to reveal his mercy and love for us – this, therefore, is one of the mysteries dwelling within the Blessed Trinity. For the human mind, this immensity of his love is hard to fathom, and so, as Saint Hilary once shared with us, God places inside of us – his love, the Holy Spirit, “our intermediary and advocate” – to help us understand, to help us see one other not through eyes of judgement but eyes of love, like him.
Again, to the human mind and heart, judgment tends to come swiftly because our sight is tainted with pride, yet the Trinity reminds us that our true nature isn’t judgment or condemnation but love, and it’s through our relationship with Christ and our “incorporation” into the Blessed Trinity that we can now slowly begin to see one another more through love and less through judgement. We slowly begin to see that like our Savior; we’re leading one another to salvation and not condemnation. After all, in the end, faced before our God, it’s not us condemning others nor is it Christ. In a way, it’s not even God who condemns; instead, it’s one who condemns self when one chooses something other than God, when one fails to rightfully use grace and rejects God’s mercy and love, when one chooses to isolate self from the Trinity. Yet in relationship with the Trinity, one not only finds love but hope – praying that they may not only encounter God in their lives but that with Christ, they may change their ways and choose love rather that pride and judgement.
Finally, as we continue to prepare for the consecration of the United States to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and pray for healing in our nation, this week, we pray that the Lord’s mercy may come upon those in our nation that are incarcerated, especially those facing the death penalty that they may find healing in the Sacred Heart of Jesus and that we may see them not through eyes of judgment or condemnation but eyes of love. Make this week of prayer serve as a reminder that “that the dignity of the person is not lost even after very serious crimes are committed … the death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person.” Pope Leo XIV, April 24, 2026.
In Christ
Fr Robert