I thought that I was ready for my driving test. I knew all the rules of the road, and all the answers, but I failed the test... first time. The instructor said that I did not look in the rear window of the car often enough to see who might want to pass. Rules can be about knowledge. Courtesy is a rule of the heart. God’s Rules are guidelines for our good, like green, yellow, and red, but it is the spirit of the rule that kindles the heart. Famous Dubliner, James Joyce, said that too much sacrifice hath made a stone of the heart, and Jesus said ‘’you can honour me with your lips, but your heart is far from me ‘’. Today, Jesus tells, if someone hurts us, rather than wait for an apology, let the hurt one make the first move to heal. That is not easy, and maybe not fair, but it comes from the spirit of the heart. Someone told me that when I feel like that, say The Our Father, slowly, or light a candle. The Law of Love comes before love of law.

Liam Hickey, St.Ciarans, Hartstown, Dublin 15.