Friday of the 8th Week of the Year

Doing no more than is asked or required of you can sometimes be the virtuous thing to do. However, at other times it can betray a fundamentally selfish attitude ever on guard against being taken advantage of and thus refusing to go the extra mile. This self-protective stance that curbs generosity is perhaps well represented by that cursed fig tree which only gave fruit when it was the time for figs—and at no other time. The self-absorption that this self-protectiveness generates, separates us from others and undermines our very humanity which blossoms only in relationships that are open, trusting, and generously self-giving. Therefore, let us pray for this grace of outgoing generosity to others so that we don’t become that withered and cursed fig tree, but rather one of those luxuriant trees described in Ezekiel and the Book of Revelation which bear fruit every month and whose leaves serve as medicine for the nations.