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Action Item: Reflect on how Jesus gives you access to the Father.
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Jesus said to his disciples: “Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold I am sending the promise of my Father upon you; but stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” Luke 24:46–49
And with that, the earthly mission of Jesus was completed and He ascended into Heaven. Or was it? Was His mission completed? Yes, but only in the sense that our Lord’s work of destroying death and offering new life was accomplished by His life, death and resurrection. Human nature was now invited to share in a new life of grace.
Prayerfully imagine standing on the mountain of the Ascension with our Lord. As you gaze upon Him, imagine that you were also present with Him throughout His public ministry. Imagine witnessing His many miracles, the way that He converted the hardest of hearts, the authority with which He spoke, His arrest, torture, death and then His Resurrection. Imagine seeing His hands and feet, once pierced, now radiating glory from those wounds. As you see our Lord in this way, imagine Him looking at you with love and saying to you that He has chosen to send you forth to the world to be a witness to Him and to all that you have seen and encountered. You are to go forth sharing the Good News of His life, death and resurrection with all whom you come in contact with.
First, our Lord has, indeed, shared His entire life with you. By reading the Gospels, you become a firsthand witness to all that Jesus did and accomplished. His Word is alive, and it reveals His very Person to you, just as it did to His first followers. Second, Jesus does call you to go forth and to share this living Gospel with the world. Therefore, it is important to ponder how you can do such a thing. How can you give witness to the Resurrection of Christ? How can you change lives? How can you continue the mission of Jesus Himself?
The promise given by our Lord to the disciples on the mountain of the Ascension is also a promise given to you. He is promising to send the Holy Spirit upon you so as to clothe you “with power from on high.” Only by receiving that power and using it fully will you be able to accomplish the mission that our Lord has given to you. Therefore, will you open yourself to the Holy Spirit and commit yourself to the continuation of Christ’s mission?
If we were to fully understand the mission we have received from Jesus, it would fill us with a holy fear. But too often the realization of what God wants of us fills us with an unholy fear instead. We think about evangelizing others, sharing our faith, witnessing to the truth by our actions, loving our enemies and living for the Gospel alone, and it can appear overwhelming. If that is the case with you, then know that this form of unholy fear can be dispelled so that the gift of holy fear can take its place. Holy fear is a gift of the Holy Spirit that inspires us to sense the awesomeness of God and the mission we are given by encountering it firsthand. It motivates us, encourages us and leaves us with wonder and awe. From there, this and every other gift of the Holy Spirit enables us to fulfill the unending mission of Christ.
Reflect, today, upon the particular mission that God has given to you. Prayerfully look at Jesus as He stands on the mountain of the Ascension and looks at you. As He does, let Him reveal to you not only His very Person but also your particular sharing in His ongoing mission of sharing the Good News to the ends of the earth. Receive that mission with courage, joy and holy fear. Reverence it, savor it, ponder it and accept it. Commit yourself to this glorious sharing in the life of Christ by committing yourself to become a witness to Christ until the end of your life on earth.
My ascended Lord, as You entered body and soul into the full and glorious presence of Your Father, You handed on to your disciples the duty of completing Your mission on earth. I hear Your call in my life, dear Lord, and commit myself to the glorious task of continuing that mission on earth. Please use me as You will and fill me with power from on high so that I may help share Your saving Word to the ends of the earth. Jesus, I trust in You.
Window: workshop of Franz Borgias Mayer (1848–1926); Photo: Andreas Praefcke, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
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Action Item: See how the Holy Spirit reveals the truth of the Father and the Son.
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Join Giuli, Sofi and Adrianna for an episode on work. What is work, beyond our 9-to-5 job? How do instinctive and cultural approaches to work enslave us to our circumstances? Is it possible to instead start from friendship with Christ and obedience to the Father? What helps us approach work in this way? And what are the fruits? //
Our media recommendation is an excerpt of Charles Peguy’s poem The Portal of the Mystery of Hope, entitled ‘Finding the Eternal in Our Daily Toil’. And our monthly challenge is to spend a day repeating the prayer, “Lord, I am not worthy,” as you go about your daily tasks. //
We’d love to hear from you! Write to us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram at @pilgrimsoulpodcast. Our website is www.pilgrimsoulpodcast.com. //
Other resources we mention:
Fr. Luigi Giussani’s 1999 talk A New Man Pope St. John Paul II’s encyclical Laborem exercens Fr. Walter Ciszek’s memoir He Leadeth Me Fr. Luigi Giussani’s 1975 talk God is Mercy The Rule of St. Benedict //For Lent this year, we will be reading Bishop Erik Varden’s new book together. Please join us! You can pre-order Healing Wounds now through Bloomsbury. //
Our theme music is Nich Lampson’s “Dolphin Kicks.”
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“But whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice, as the shepherd calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has driven out all his own, he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him, because they recognize his voice.” John 10:2–4
Do you recognize the voice of the Shepherd? Does He lead you each and every day, guiding you into His holy will? How attentive are you to what He speaks each day? These are some of the most important questions to ponder.
Recognizing God’s voice is something that many people struggle with. There are often many competing “voices” that speak to us each and every day. From the latest news in the headlines, to the opinions of friends and family, to the temptations all around us within the secular world, to our own self-drawn opinions, these “voices” or “ideas” that fill our minds can be hard to sort through. What is from God? And what is from other sources?
Recognizing the voice of God is indeed possible. First of all, there are many general truths that God has already spoken to us. For example, everything contained in the Holy Scriptures is the voice of God. His Word is alive. And when we read the Scriptures, we become more and more familiar with God’s voice.
God also speaks to us through gentle inspirations that result in His peace. For example, when considering a certain decision you may need to make, if you present that decision to our Lord prayerfully and then remain open to whatever He wants of you, oftentimes His answer comes in the form of a deep and certain peace of heart.
Learning to recognize the voice of God in your daily life is accomplished by building an interior habit of listening, recognizing, responding, listening some more, recognizing and responding, etc. The more you hear the voice of God, the more you will recognize His voice in the most subtle of ways, and the more you come to hear the subtleties of His voice, the more you will be able to follow. In the end, this is only accomplished by an ongoing habit of deep and sustaining prayer. Without that, it will be very difficult to recognize the voice of the Shepherd when you need Him the most.
Reflect, today, upon how attentive you are to God in prayer. What does your daily prayer look like? Do you spend time each day listening to the gentle and beautiful voice of our Lord? Do you seek to form a habit by which His voice becomes clearer and clearer? If not, if you do struggle in recognizing His voice, then make the decision to establish a deeper habit of daily prayer so that it is the voice of our loving Lord Who leads you every day.
Jesus, my Good Shepherd, You speak to me each and every day. You are constantly revealing to me Your most holy will for my life. Help me to always recognize Your gentle voice so that I can be led by You through the challenges of life. May my life of prayer become so deep and sustaining that Your voice always echoes within my heart and soul. Jesus, I trust in You.
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Action Item: Make sure your heart is open and humble like the Ethiopian eunuch to hear the Word of God.
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John 6: 44-51 - 'I am the living bread which has come down from Heaven.'
Catechism of the Catholic Church Paragraphs:
- 259 (in 'The Divine Works and the Trinitarian Missions') - Being a work at once common and personal, the whole divine economy makes known both what is proper to the divine persons, and their one divine nature. Hence the whole Christian life is a communion with each of the divine persons, without in any way separating them. Everyone who glorifies the Father does so through the Son in the Holy Spirit; everyone who follows Christ does so because the Father draws him and the Spirit moves him.
- 1001 (in 'How do the dead rise?') - When? Definitively "at the last day," "at the end of the world." Indeed, the resurrection of the dead is closely associated with Christ's Parousia: For the Lord himself will descend from heaven, with a cry of command, with the archangel's call, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. and the dead in Christ will rise first.
- 151 (in 'To Believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God') - For a Christian, believing in God cannot be separated from believing in the One he sent, his "beloved Son", in whom the Father is "well pleased"; God tells us to listen to him. The Lord himself said to his disciples: "Believe in God, believe also in me." We can believe in Jesus Christ because he is himself God, the Word made flesh: "No one has ever seen God; the only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has made him known." Because he "has seen the Father", Jesus Christ is the only one who knows him and can reveal him.
- 728 (in 'Christ Jesus') - Jesus does not reveal the Holy Spirit fully, until he himself has been glorified through his Death and Resurrection. Nevertheless, little by little he alludes to him even in his teaching of the multitudes, as when he reveals that his own flesh will be food for the life of the world (abbreviated).
- 1355 (in 'The Movement of the Eucharistic Celebration') - In the communion, preceded by the Lord's prayer and the breaking of the bread, the faithful receive "the bread of heaven" and "the cup of salvation," the body and blood of Christ who offered himself "for the life of the world." Because this bread and wine have been made Eucharist ("eucharisted," according to an ancient expression), "we call this food Eucharist, and no one may take part in it unless he believes that what we teach is true, has received baptism for the forgiveness of sins and new birth, and lives in keeping with what Christ taught."
Got a Bible question? Send an email to [email protected], and it will be answered in an upcoming episode!
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I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my Flesh for the life of the world.” John 6:51
Jesus was starting to stir up the emotions of some within the crowd. They began to ridicule Him because He had said that He was the “bread that had come down from heaven.” Thus, many of those who had sought Jesus out in hopes of another miraculous free meal began to murmur among themselves and ridicule Him. As a result, Jesus began to speak even more clearly and shockingly. He then went even further and said that He is not only the “living bread that came down from heaven” but that those who want to “live forever” must also eat His “Flesh.”
How would you have reacted to such a statement if you were among those within the crowd? Consider the fact that you would have recently seen, with your own eyes, the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes. Therefore, you would have realized that Jesus was someone special, to say the least. But how would you have reacted to this statement of Jesus, “and the bread that I will give is my Flesh for the life of the world,” if you had heard it spoken at that time? Most likely, your reaction would have been the same reaction that you have right now to the teaching of the Most Holy Eucharist.
Many who heard Jesus speak this way may have thought it was a bit of an unusual thing to say. Some would have reacted strongly, while others would have reacted with indifference. But some would have had an entirely different reaction. Some would have heard Jesus speak these new and shocking words, would have realized that they did not fully understand what He meant, but would have believed deeply on account of the gift of faith. Somehow they would have known, in the depths of their consciences, that they did indeed need to eat the Flesh of Him Who came down from Heaven since He was indeed the Bread of Life.
Believing in the Eucharist, in the fact that these tangible and visible gifts of the Sacred Host and the Precious Blood are, in fact, the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of the Eternal Son of God, can only happen through the interior and transforming gift of faith. How else can you believe such a teaching? How else could you believe that these words in today’s Gospel have come true? And that the reception of the Most Holy Eucharist is the pathway to eternal life? The gift of faith in the Most Holy Eucharist is the one and only way to understand, accept and deeply believe what our Lord has spoken in this Holy Gospel.
Reflect, today, upon Jesus speaking these most holy words for the first time: “...the bread that I will give is my Flesh for the life of the world.” As you prayerfully reflect upon these words, ponder how deeply you believe them. How deep is your faith in the Most Holy Eucharist? The Eucharist is the fulfillment of this passage, and our divine Lord invites you to not only believe in His holy words but to allow this truth to transform you in ways beyond what you could ever imagine.
My Eucharistic Lord, You are truly the Bread of Life, and all those who eat Your Flesh and drink Your Blood will inherit eternal life. I do believe this, dear Lord. I believe that the Most Holy Eucharist is You, Your Soul and Divinity, given to me so that I can share in Your holy life. Give me the grace I need to deepen my faith in the Most Holy Eucharist so that I will be drawn more fully into the joys of Your Eternal Kingdom. Jesus, I trust in You.
Image: Christ Preaching By Rembrandt, public domain via Wikimedia Commons
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Homily from Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion
This is not the end of the Story, but it had to happen for the Story to go on.
The Passion of Christ is not the end of the Story, but we must pause and reflect on it. It is the lens through which we see: What love looks like when it costs everything, what sin looks like when we can see the wounds, and what mercy looks like when it refuses to give up.
Mass Readings from April, 18, 2025: Isaiah 52:13—53:12 Psalm 31:2, 6, 12-13, 15-16, 17, 25Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9John 18:1—19:42
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John 11: 45-56- 'Jesus was to die to gather together the scattered children of God.'
Catechism of the Catholic Church Paragraphs:
-596 (in 'Divisions among the Jewish authorities concerning Jesus') - The religious authorities in Jerusalem were not unanimous about what stance to take towards Jesus. The Pharisees threatened to excommunicate his followers. To those who feared that "everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and destroy both our holy place and our nation", the high priest Caiaphas replied by prophesying: "It is expedient for you that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation should not perish." (abbreviated)
-58 (in 'the Covenant with Noah') - The covenant with Noah remains in force during the times of the Gentiles, until the universal proclamation of the Gospel. The Bible venerates several great figures among the Gentiles: Abel the just, the king-priest Melchisedek - a figure of Christ - and the upright "Noah, Daniel, and Job". Scripture thus expresses the heights of sanctity that can be reached by those who live according to the covenant of Noah, waiting for Christ to "gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad".
- 60 (in 'God chooses Abraham') - The people descended from Abraham would be the trustee of the promise made to the patriarchs, the chosen people, called to prepare for that day when God would gather all his children into the unity of the Church. They would be the root on to which the Gentiles would be grafted, once they came to believe.
-706 (in 'The Spirit of the Promise') - Against all human hope, God promises descendants to Abraham, as the fruit of faith and of the power of the Holy Spirit. In Abraham's progeny all the nations of the earth will be blessed. This progeny will be Christ himself, in whom the outpouring of the Holy Spirit will "gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad." (abbreviated)
-2793 (in 'Our Father') - The baptized cannot pray to "our" Father without bringing before him all those for whom he gave his beloved Son. God's love has no bounds, neither should our prayer. Praying "our" Father opens to us the dimensions of his love revealed in Christ: praying with and for all who do not yet know him, so that Christ may "gather into one the children of God." (abbreviated)
Got a Bible question? Send an email to [email protected], and it will be answered in an upcoming episode!
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In this episode, we explore Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) as a treatment option for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). We discuss the FDA-approved devices, unique protocols, and why patients need their anxiety triggered before each session. Did you know TMS for OCD targets a completely different brain region than TMS for depression?
Faculty: Simon Kung, M.D.
Learn more about our memberships here Earn 1 CME: TMS in Psychiatry: Innovations and Best Practices Exploring the Evidence of TMS for OCD
Host: Richard Seeber, M.D. -
Special Announcement #1 The Legendary Summer Intensive Starts on Thursday of this week! Featuring Drs. David Burns and Jill Levitt August 8 - 11, 2024 Click for registration / more information!
This workshop is a training program which will be limited to therapists and mental health professionals and graduate students in a mental health field Apologies, but therapists have complained when non-therapists have attended our continuing education training programs. This is partly because of the intimate nature of the small group exercises and the personal work the therapists may do during the workshop. Certified coaches and counselors are welcome to attend.
Special Announcement #2Here's some GREAT news! The Feeling Great App is now available in both app stores (IOS and Android) and is for therapists and the general public, and you can take a ride for free! Check it
Today's Podcast #408-- Does God exist?We started today’s podcast with a beautiful testimonial and a shout out for the intensive from August 8 to 11, 2024 at the South San Francisco Intensive in person or virtually if you prefer. To learn more, contact www.CBTintensive.com. Act fast because the intensive is on Thursday of this week when today’s podcast will be published.
Today, we tackle another popular and intensely debated philosophical / religious puzzle: Does God exist? People have very heated views, one way or the other. I (David) will start with a brief explanation of a Wittgenstein answer to this question, and then for the most part, we will focus instead on the question of how we all incorporate spirituality into TEAM-CBT.
Wittgenstein emphasized that philosophical problem exist when we debate about the meanings of words or terms that are vague, or poorly defined. Traditionally, we think there are three positions one could take:
Theism: You believe that God exists. Atheism: You do not believe in God. Agnosticism: You say that you do no know whether or not God exists.My own thinking, which is strongly influenced by Wittgenstein, would be that I don’t understand any of those three stances because I have no idea what you mean by your use of the word, “God.” What is it, exactly, that I’m supposed to believe in, or not believe in?
To me, the question, “Do you believe in God,” is nonsensical, so I simply do not deal with it. All of the three positions listed above are based on the idea that the word, “God,” has some kind of clear meaning that we can all agree upon. But it clearly does not.
You might define “God” as the “creator of the universe.” Well, there is certainly something magical and mysterious about the existence and creation of the universe (assuming it did begin with some kind of “big bang.”) Some questions might include “Where did all the energy come from all of a sudden?” Or “Are there many universes?”
These are valid questions, and physicists are pursuing the answers, which is very exciting and fantastic. But they are generally not invoking the concept of a “God,” although some undoubtedly would say that they do “believe in Gad.”
Regardless, I cheer them on and find every new discovery about the nature of the universe, and how the universe works, endlessly fascinating!
For today, we will ask a much simpler question of whether and how we include some kind of spiritual dimension into our work as shrinks. This is a topic that is equally exciting, and definitely meaningful.
Rhonda got us started by explain that she sees the belief in God as a matter of faith, and is not something that can be tested empirically, which is certainly true. She says she does believe in God, or some “higher power,” but does not believe in a God who “rules over things.”
She was raised in the Jewish religion, and says that many Jews believe that God exists in everyone . This sounds a little like Hinduism, which traces back at least 2500 years ago, and possibly as early as 5000 years ago. I believe that the Hindus believe that God exists in everything.
The practical impact of the belief that God exists in all of us, is that we will treat each other with love and respect, since we are all an expression of God. She also said that we can “create God among us as a community.”
Matt said that he was raised as a Christian and that when he was growing up he had heard about miracles, like Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead in the New Testament on the Gospel according to John. He said that he views our work with individuals who are severely depressed as a kind of spiritual healing, even though we are working with purely secular methods. This is especially true when we are working with individuals who appear to be paralyzed by depression, claiming they are unable even to get out of bed, people who bombard themselves with harsh criticisms, and feel hopeless and ashamed.
Matt said that self-acceptance (accepting ourselves exactly as we are) is one of the many tools we use, and that he (Matt) loves to think about the ripple effects of our work, which not only transforms the lives of individuals who awaken from their depressive trance, but this also has enormous positive effects on their friends and family as well.
He asks, “How do we achieve this?”
I (David) loved hearing from Rhonda and Matt on spirituality in TEAM, and pointed out many areas of overlap between TEAM and the Christian theology I was raised on, since my dad was a Lutheran minister. For example,
The TEAM concept that you do not, and cannot, earn genuine feelings of worthwhileness or self-esteem through achievement. In other words, your worth is not your work, but something you give yourself unconditionally. In Christianity, we are sometimes taught that you cannot get to “heaven” through your good works. Enlightenment is a gift, a decision, and not something you have to earn. We also teach that humans are not purely good, but have a mixture of positive and negative motives, and that many people suffer because of guilt and regret about past errors or sins. When we are teaching the Acceptance Paradox, we are teaching a “letting go” of the inner abuse we endure from that relentless, critical voice in our brains, labeling us and telling us that we aren’t good enough, we’re “bad,” we’re “losers,” and so forth, using powerful tools like the Externalization of Voices.In Christianity, this message is delivered in my ritualized ways, including the act of communion, confessing your sins and accepting the blood and body of Christ who “died for your sins.” This is just another way of sending the message that it is okay to accept the fact that you are flawed and fallen, and yet still worthy of God’s love—and your own love!
In the interpersonal TEAM model for troubled relationships, the entire emphasis on pinpointing your own role in a problem with a friend, colleague, loved one, or stranger, instead of casting blame on the other person and feeling angry and morally superior. My Relationship Journal is a tool designed to facilitate this process very rapidly.In Christianity there are many messages about taking out the moat in your own eye, as well as the idea that when you blame others, and cast judgment, you condemn yourself.
There is a strong emphasis on humility and accountability in TEAM-CBT. This often comes up during positive reframing; we talk about how the patient’s self-criticisms are often an expression of high standards, honesty, and humility, and that these are beautiful qualities that are real, important, and powerful.And this similar, it seems to me, to the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus talked about “blessed are the meek, for they shall be called the Children of God.”
There are many, many additional areas of overlap, and many books have been written on this subject. During the podcast I provided examples of how the spiritual and psychological realms can meet and reinforce each other at the moment the patient recovers and discovers their own enlightenment. I am proud to have developed TEAM-CBT, and it is clearly infused with many spiritual dimensions, even though it is entirely secular.
I mentioned that I was born on a Sunday morning, and my dad said it was the only time he was unable to preach his sermon. He was too excited, especially since my parents had become reconciled to the notion that they could not have children. He called me David Dean Burns, and hoped that someday I would become D.D. Burns, D.D. DD is an honorary degree in theology, and he (and everyone) assumed that I would one day be a minister, like was. He was L.C. Burns, DD. (Lyle Charles Burns)
I went in a different direction, but have kind of returned to my original calling, though threw an unexpected route, and hope you have all enjoyed our “sermons” this morning.
I would add that I would never impose my beliefs or spiritual orientation on any patient, and only ask about the integration of their successful recovery with their own religious beliefs AFTER they have recovered, so as to add a deeper level of meaning to the work and transformation that they experienced. We only emphasized the Jewish and Christian approaches to spirituality because that was our upbringing, but the spiritual “discoveries” during TEAM treatment are actually compatible with nearly all, if not all, religions and spiritual paths.
Warmly,
Rhonda, Matt, and David
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In this episode, our host interviews Dr. David Burns about his methods for overcoming negative thoughts and promoting joy using CBT techniques. Dr. Burns discusses various techniques and introduces his new digital tool, the Feeling Great app, which tracks personal feelings to facilitate quick and effective therapy, using advanced methods to help users change their thought patterns and emotions.
Additionally, Dr. Burns emphasizes the importance of measurements in therapy for accountability and optimization, while promoting the availability of scientifically backed, drug-free treatment options for depression and anxiety, revealing his commitment to revolutionizing mental health care through his app and other resources. Listen now!
“If you look at the DSM, the diagnostic and Statistical manual, hundreds of so-called mental disorders that are described. So whatever emotion you have, it can be turned into a mental disorder. So if you're shy and most of us get anxious in public speaking or around other people, well, you don't. You're not shy. You have a mental disorder called social anxiety disorder. And that really, excuse the language, pisses me off when they do that, because you've taken a very common problem and turned it into a mental disease, and then people think they need some pill for that. And to me, that's meaningless and it's, it's wrong.” ~Dr. David Burns, Adjunct Clinical Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Stanford University School of Medicine
To learn more -- or read the transcript -- please visit the official episode page.
Our guest, Dr. David Burns, graduated magna cum laude from Amherst College, received his M.D. from Stanford University School of Medicine, and completed his psychiatry residency at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He has served as Acting Chief of Psychiatry at the Presbyterian / University of Pennsylvania Medical Center (1988) and Visiting Scholar at the Harvard Medical School (1998), and is certified by the National Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.
Dr. Burns is currently Adjunct Clinical Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Stanford University School of Medicine, where he is involved in research and teaching. He has received numerous awards, including the A. E. Bennett Award for his research on brain chemistry, the Distinguished Contribution to Psychology through the Media Award, and the Outstanding Contributions Award from the National Association of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapists. He has been named Teacher of the Year three times from the class of graduating residents at Stanford University School of Medicine, and feels especially proud of this award.
In addition to his academic research, Dr. Burns has written a number of popular books on mood and relationship problems. His best-selling book, Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy, has sold over 4 million copies in the United States, and many more worldwide. Feeling Good is the book most frequently “prescribed” for depressed patients by psychiatrists and psychologists in the United States and Canada. Surveys indicate that American mental health professionals rate Feeling Good as the #1 book on depression, out of a list of 1,000 self-help books.
Our host, Gabe Howard, is an award-winning writer and speaker who lives with bipolar disorder. He is the author of the popular book, "Mental Illness is an Asshole and other Observations," available from Amazon; signed copies are also available directly from the author. Gabe is also the host of the "Inside Bipolar" podcast with Dr. Nicole Washington.
Gabe makes his home in the suburbs of Columbus, Ohio. He lives with his supportive wife, Kendall, and a Miniature Schnauzer dog that he never wanted, but now can’t imagine life without. To book Gabe for your next event or learn more about him, please visit gabehoward.com.
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“But rather, love your enemies and do good to them, and lend expecting nothing back; then your reward will be great and you will be children of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” Luke 6:35–36
It is certainly difficult to be “kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.” But doing so is exactly what our Lord commanded us to do. And His command is not a command in the sense of being a burden. On the contrary, it’s a command that frees us from the ingratitude and wickedness we encounter.
Oftentimes, when we encounter ingratitude from another, or any other form of wickedness, we tend to react in kind. Our fallen human nature lures us into cruelty when faced with cruelty. We criticize, condemn, attack and get angry. But Jesus is very clear that this is not how the “Most High” acts toward the wicked. And it is not how He acts toward us. In the end, the wicked who fail to repent will endure the consequences of their rejection of God’s mercy. But until that final judgment, hope of conversion must always be present. And for that reason, we must never give up on another, no matter how difficult. Kindness shown to everyone, in every circumstance, goes to the heart of the mission we have received as children of God.
Think about the person in your life who seems unworthy of your kindness and generosity. Why are they undeserving? Are they truly undeserving? The truth, according to our Lord’s teaching, is that these are not questions we should even ask ourselves. Instead, we must fully commit ourselves to loving everyone who appears to be our enemy, and do good to them and to everyone whom we encounter. Though this is difficult, it won’t be if we understand the goodness that God has shown to us.
God has shone us perfect goodness, not because He expected anything back, but simply because He has willed to love us. If we want to be children of God the Most High, then we must reciprocate the love given to us. That’s the nature of God’s love. It cannot be contained. It cannot be selfishly received without also allowing it to pour forth from our lives. When we understand this, we will understand the reason Jesus instructed us to be “kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.” It is simply because this is how God has treated us. Reflect, today, upon the unlimited love God has for you. It is beyond what you could ever comprehend.
Reflect, also, upon the great benefit there is in opening yourself to God’s perfect love, kindness, generosity and mercy. The benefit is that you are able to be filled with that which you receive. And as you receive this love of God, it necessarily overflows into the lives of everyone you encounter, the good and the wicked. Everyone must always be offered this love. Do not hesitate, for God does not hesitate with you.
Most merciful Lord, You bestow Your abundant goodness upon all people, the good and bad alike. You never cease offering Your love and mercy. May I always be counted among those who fully open themselves to Your grace, and may I always offer this same depth of love to all. Jesus, I trust in You.
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Matthias Grünewald, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
