Sometimes, morality is the enemy of justice. Leading a morally upright life should lead one to act with integrity and compassion. Society itself cannot be good unless a critical mass of its people is morally good. But when we try to make other people good and judge them harshly when they don’t live up to our standards, we become repressive.

Fourth Sunday of Lent, March 26 (Year A) 1 Samuel 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13; Psalm 23; Ephesians 5:8-14; John 9:1-41

Samuel must have been perplexed and exasperated.

Recently, while on the road giving a workshop, I took the opportunity to go the cathedral in that city for a Sunday Eucharist. I was taken aback by the homily.

Before judging others we should look first in the mirror to see how we, ourselves, appear. That’s what Pope Francis said at Monday morning’s Mass at the Santa Marta guesthouse in the Vatican. In his last Mass with a Homily there ahead of the summer break, the pontiff pointed out that what distinguishes God's judgment from ours is not “omnipotence” but “mercy.”

VATICAN CITY - On a cloudy, damp morning, Pope Francis' voice echoed in the atrium of St. Peter's Basilica: "Open the gates of justice." With five strong thrusts, the pope pushed open the Holy Door, a symbol of God's justice, which he said will always be exercised "in the light of his mercy."