Author: admin

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Gospel: Luke 6:27-38

Jesus said to his disciples:
“To you who hear I say, love your enemies,
do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you,
pray for those who mistreat you.
To the person who strikes you on one cheek,
offer the other one as well,
and from the person who takes your cloak,
do not withhold even your tunic.
Give to everyone who asks of you,
and from the one who takes what is yours do not demand it back.
Do to others as you would have them do to you.
For if you love those who love you,
what credit is that to you?
Even sinners love those who love them.
And if you do good to those who do good to you,
what credit is that to you?
Even sinners do the same.
If you lend money to those from whom you expect repayment,
what credit is that to you?
Even sinners lend to sinners,
and get back the same amount. 
But rather, love your enemies and do good to them,
and lend expecting nothing back;
then your reward will be great
and you will be children of the Most High,
for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.
Be merciful, just as also your Father is merciful.

“Stop judging and you will not be judged.
Stop condemning and you will not be condemned.
Forgive and you will be forgiven.
Give and gifts will be given to you;
a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing,
will be poured into your lap.
For the measure with which you measure
will in return be measured out to you.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Have you ever tasted a Sour Patch Kid?

It’s a gummy candy rolled in sugar. When you first taste it, a Sour Patch Kid is incredibly sour like a lemon. But the more you chew it, the sweeter it becomes.

To me, it’s an appropriate image for understanding today’s Gospel – one of Jesus most difficult teachings: “Love your enemies.”

To avoid leaving this as an abstract ideal, the Lord even specifies what, exactly, we are to do:

“Do good to those who hate you; bless those who curse you; pray for those who mistreat you; turn the other cheek; and from the one who takes what is yours, do not demand it back.”

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Understandably, we might ask: Why should we love those who hate us? And how is that possible?

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Perhaps “why” is easier to answer than “how.” 

As followers of Christ, we should follow his example. And the Lord tells us plainly, “God himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.”

Studies have also shown that holding onto anger – or worse, hatred – negatively affects our own mental, physical, and emotional health; it’s like drinking poison, then hoping it will kill your enemies.

We love those who hate us, not only because God does, but also because doing so improves our own wellbeing.

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But how do we do this? 

Saint Thomas Aquinas once said, “Grace builds upon nature.”

Meaning, God requires an open heart before he pours his grace into it; he will not force himself upon us. But if we open our hearts to the Holy Spirit, then slowly, Christ will make our heart his own.

Ultimately, it is he – not us – who does the loving and forgiving, because God alone turns the sour things sweet.

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Image credits: (1) Tee Public (2) Sour Patch Kids, Amazon.com (3) Pinterest

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Gospel: Luke 6:20-26

Raising his eyes toward his disciples Jesus said:

“Blessed are you who are poor,
for the Kingdom of God is yours.
Blessed are you who are now hungry,
for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who are now weeping,
for you will laugh.
Blessed are you when people hate you,
and when they exclude and insult you,
and denounce your name as evil
on account of the Son of Man.

Rejoice and leap for joy on that day!
Behold, your reward will be great in heaven. 
For their ancestors treated the prophets 
in the same way.

But woe to you who are rich,
for you have received your consolation.
But woe to you who are filled now,
for you will be hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will grieve and weep.
Woe to you when all speak well of you,
for their ancestors treated the false prophets in this way.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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One of the most popular social media platforms today is “X,” formerly known as Twitter.

Twitter is used by 450 million people around the world. It allows you to share whatever is on your mind, usually in a single sentence.

Here are two recent tweets that went viral:

Congratulations to the astronauts who left earth today. Good choice.

Humans are simply not built for email.

We could write a book about what each of these two tweets means. But this is the genius of a pithy Tweet – it distills our thoughts or experiences into a single sentence.

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In today’s Gospel, Jesus preaches his first sermon, often called, “The Sermon on the Mount,” boiling God’s vision for humanity down into a handful of simple Tweets.

Consider two of them, and what each might mean for us:

“Blessed are the pure of heart.”

To be “pure of heart” means to be, “single-minded; without division.” By extension, blessed are those who live moral lives; who pray to resist temptation; who strive to grow in virtue; who keep God at the very center of their lives.

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Secondly, “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” 

To be, “poor in spirit,” means, “to know your need for God.” 

I think of a young father who’s poor in spirit. Every morning, he wakes up 20 minutes before there’s a stir in the house in order to pray for his wife and three children. He knows his need for God.

Or a woman who was married for 50 years. Her husband passed away suddenly at 6 am on a Sunday morning. She came to the noon Mass that day to thank the Lord for their 50 years of marriage and to pray for her husband’s soul. She knew her need for God.

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Much more could be said about each of Jesus’ Tweets. But perhaps we can choose just one of these two to meditate upon today: “Blessed are the pure of heart.”

“Blessed are the poor in spirit.”

Which of these speaks to me and why?

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Image credits: (1) Forbes (2) Psephizo (3) Dreamstime.com

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Gospel: Luke 6: 12-19

Jesus departed to the mountain to pray,
and he spent the night in prayer to God.
When day came, he called his disciples to himself,
and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named Apostles:
Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew,
James, John, Philip, Bartholomew,
Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus,
Simon who was called a Zealot,
and Judas the son of James,
and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

And he came down with them and stood on a stretch of level ground.
A great crowd of his disciples and a large number of the people 
from all Judea and Jerusalem
and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon
came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases;
and even those who were tormented by unclean spirits were cured.
Everyone in the crowd sought to touch him
because power came forth from him and healed them all.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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One of the remarkable traits of Jesus was his ability to bring vastly different people together, uniting them under a single mission.

For example, in today’s Gospel he calls the Twelve Apostles. Some of these men would’ve never been friends without the Lord; quite the opposite.

Consider Simon and Matthew.

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Simon was a member of the Zealot party, a group of Jewish patriots who viewed the Roman Empire as an invading force that stole their freedom. They wanted independence and would do almost anything for it.

Then there’s Matthew, also a Jew, who served the Roman Empire as a tax-collector. Matthew would’ve been seen by Simon as being in cahoots with the enemy.

Somehow, Jesus brought these men together, uniting them under a single mission – the salvation of souls.

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That’s what the Holy Spirit still does today.

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The Spirit fosters harmony; inspires forgiveness; heals wounded hearts; and enables people with divergent – even conflicting – views to set aside their differences, to work together, and to build the Kingdom of God.

In what ways has the Holy Spirit made me a kinder, more inclusive, less judgmental person?

How do I work with others – including those who are different from me – to build up God’s kingdom at home, at work, in this parish, and in the broader community?

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May the same Lord, who inspired a diverse group of people to work together in the beginning, inspire us to continue doing good work together today.

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Image credits: (1) Living Bulwark (2) Commissioning of the Twelve Apostles, Domenico Ghirlandaio (3) Encourage Yourself in the Lord, WordPress