Hold up your head

“The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not. Cain greatly resented this and was crestfallen. So the LORD said to Cain: ‘Why are you so resentful and crestfallen. If you do well, you can hold up your head; but if not, sin is a demon lurking at the door: his urge is toward you, yet you can be his master.’” (GEN 4: 4-7)

When we do well, we “can hold up our heads,” but when we are looking only for our own satisfaction or for our own good, we look at others as a means to our end; then the way we look at others appears selfishness. We can’t express honesty, love and care for others. The same happens in married lives–when we look at our spouses with love, our heads are up; when we look at our spouses with expectations and demands, we scowl.

“I am the way and the truth and the life, says the Lord; no one comes to the Father except through me.” (Gospel Acclamation)