Judging Your Brother

What does it mean to “judge your brother”? The reference came up again in one of the Mass readings recently. It is sad how few people know what that means; and it is more sad how many Catholics do this without knowing it. As you read on, be humble, let the Lord speak to you, and do some serious self-examination.

For someone to stand firmly on a point of church dogma is good and holy. For someone to stand firmly on a specific practice that he has, which is in accord with the Church’s teaching, but not actually required, is also good and holy. For someone to say that another person is "wrong" because he practices something, which is also in accord with the Church’s teaching, but happens to be different from what he himself does, is a grave sin. In case anyone missed it, let me say it again: it is a grave sin. Just because you do not understand a behavior or practice of another Catholic does not make their practice "wrong". The Church decides what is right and wrong and tells us how to obey God, not any of us.

There is more than one letter of the New Testament written to parishes that had issues with division over non-essential issues (Romans, 1 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, St. James). It seems like we still have not learned this lesson; many today divide over parenting methods, homeschool ideologies, prayer practices, etc. St. Paul described it in one letter by saying that Christians needed to stop passing judgment on one another over issues of different ways of practicing the faith and that they needed to receive one another as brothers (cf. Romans chapter 14 and 15--read them fully!).

This prideful superiority is something that every Catholic can fall into (and it is a sin to presume that you will not ever do so!). It is the same error that the Pharisees fell into and got them condemned by our Lord. They came up with a list of details of how to practice the Jewish faith in the first century A.D., and they insisted that all Jews practice the faith the same way (as though they had discovered the only right way!). A few of the things that they did were good, and some were even helpful to the faithful. Yet, Jesus condemns them many times because they "judged their brothers" for doing things differently than them.

Learn rather to love your brothers who may not be exactly like you. Learn what it means when the Church says that there are different ways to practice that Catholic faith (within prescribed boundaries, of course). Learn that Christ loves your "different" brother as much as He loves you, and He died for both of you. Live faithfully in the way that you are convicted of, and serve God fully in doing so. We all "live and die to Christ".