Are you careful with your thoughts — be they good or bad — aware that they can result to good or bad actions? - Daily Reflections August 29,2015

THE LAW OF DEVELOPMENT   Of all the saints, only John’s birth and death are celebrated. After all, he was the only prophet who could point at the Messiah and proclaim: “Look, there is the Lamb of God.” Like most of the prophets, he experienced a violent death for standing up for his conviction and the truth.        Herod Antipas, one of the sons of King Herod the Great, caused his death. He took delight in the dance of Salome, the daughter of the wife of his half-brother, whom Antipas had married. That Salome’s dance pleased her male audience indicates that it was quite sensuous. So, his first sin was that he enjoyed a lascivious spectacle.      This, in turn, prompted him to make an imprudent oath to grant Salome anything she wanted. This led to the more serious sin of pride: He did not want to lose face in front of his guests by breaking his foolish promise. Finally, the sin of pride led him to commit murder.      John, too, underwent a gradual development but in the opposite direction. He moved from good to better while Herod moved from bad to worse.     John began as an ascetic living in the desert. Then he started preaching and baptizing. This made him remind Herod of his immorality, which landed him in jail. But even in jail, John continued to influence Herod positively, knowing well that he was risking his life by provoking the anger of Herodias. In all this, we see John growing steadily in spiritual stature — until he died a martyr’s death.       Our lives, too, are ruled by this law of development. As a poster says, “Watch your thoughts, they become words. Watch your words, they become actions. Watch your actions, they become habits. Watch your habits, they become character. Watch your character, it becomes your destiny.”      Small things can lead to bigger things, good or bad. Good thoughts tend to inspire us to do great things for God. As Jesus tells us in the Parable of the Talents, faithfulness in small things leads to big rewards.Fr. Rudy Horst, SVD   REFLECTION QUESTION: Are you careful with your thoughts — be they good or bad — aware that they can result to good or bad actions?   Lord, please remind me always to check on my thoughts so that I do not end up doing something bad.