Jesus indicates in today's gospel that your future fortunes are really up to you. Your actions in this life resemble throwing a boomerang: it will return right back to you the way you let it go. Consider the following promises:

• "Do not judge, and you will not be judged" (Lk 6:37).
• "Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned" (Lk 6:37).
• "Pardon, and you shall be pardoned" (Lk 6:37).
• "Give, and it shall be given to you" (Lk 6:38).
• "The measure you measure with will be measured back to you" (Lk 6:38).
• "Do to others what you would have them do to you" (Lk 6:31).
• "Merciless is the judgment on the man who has not shown mercy" (Jas 2:13).
• "Your verdict on others will be the verdict passed on you" (Mt 7:2).
• "A man will reap only what he sows" (Gal 6:7). "He who sows sparingly will reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will reap bountifully" (2 Cor 9:6).

God has granted us an amazing freedom to determine our eternal (and earthly) destiny by our choices and actions. Each action and reaction has eternal ramifications. May you have many happy returns!

Nihil Obstat:  Reverend Robert L. Hagedorn, February 7, 2002

Imprimatur:  †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, February 12, 2002