Category: Uncategorized

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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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It’s no secret that today is September 11^th. It’s hard to believe that next year will be a quarter century since our nation was brazenly attacked and thousands of innocent lives were cut short in a matter of minutes.

When tragedies like 9/11 happen, or a senseless shooting in Utah or in Minneapolis as children are processing in for Mass, we often turn to God. We either turn to him in anger, blaming “God” for the mess, or we seek divine help to process and to understand.

Even to forgive.

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I find it no small coincidence that our readings today hit us square in the face with one of Christ’s most difficult teachings.

“To you who hear I say, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you and bless those who curse you… For if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?”

It seems impossible for the human heart to merge violence and forgiveness into the same sentence. But that’s precisely the point.

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There comes a time when human beings are hurt so deeply – not only by national tragedies, but also by those that affect us most intimately – that we cannot forgive. We need God to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves.

God alone could willingly accept death – death on a cross! – and forgive those responsible for causing his pain while drawing his last breath.

If we are to genuinely pray for, even forgive, those who persecute us, then we need the heart of Jesus. It’s God’s divine love – his thirst for the salvation of souls – that burns away anger and washes away sin. For God does not create to condemn, but to save.

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On a day like this, perhaps the Gospel calls us to a few humble truths:

In order to forgive, first we must love God and recognize our own human limitations.

Then we must ask the Lord to transform our hearts, making them more and more like his. 

As the prophet Ezekiel foretells, “Behold, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”

Come, then, Lord Jesus, refresh our hearts, for you alone can renew the face of the earth.

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Image credits: (1) DeviantArt (2) Wikimedia Commons (3) Family Foundations Institute

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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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Today’s Gospel is considered to be Christ’s first public sermon, commonly known as the Beatitudes. Although it is found in both Matthew and Luke’s Gospel, there is one key difference.

In Matthew’s version, Jesus is said to have preached from a high mountain, giving the impression that he’s anchored somewhere between heaven and earth, preaching “down” to his disciples.

As a result, the listener is forced to turn their ear upward, making the Beatitudes feel like lofty ideals, which we can only aspire to live.

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Luke, however, describes Jesus giving the same sermon “on a level stretch of ground,” while placing the Lord slightly below the disciples feet as he must raise his eyes toward them.

Here the Beatitudes are not seen as lofty ideals delivered on a mountaintop; rather, they serve as the very foundation of Christianity.

“Blessed are you who are poor… who are hungry… who are weeping,” Jesus says. This does not mean that we must be in these stressful conditions, but we are responsible for caring for those who are.

Thus, Luke’s version is directed towards the here and now. 

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When I think of Jesus preaching, where do I imagine him standing, high on a mountaintop or down on the plain? Is religion a mere set of ideals, or the very foundation for how we live our lives?

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In his final sermon, Jesus reinforces the teachings we hear in today’s Gospel with the assurance, “Whatever you do to the least of my brothers and sisters, you do to me.”

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Image credits: (1) Amazon (2) Our Rabbi Jesus (3) Southview Baptist Church

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Gospel: Matthew 25: 31-43

Jesus said to his disciples:
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory,
and all the angels with him,
he will sit upon his glorious throne,
and all the nations will be assembled before him.
And he will separate them one from another,
as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
Then the king will say to those on his right,
‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father.
Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
For I was hungry and you gave me food,
I was thirsty and you gave me drink,
a stranger and you welcomed me,
naked and you clothed me,
ill and you cared for me,
in prison and you visited me.’
Then the righteous will answer him and say,
‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you,
or thirsty and give you drink?
When did we see you a stranger and welcome you,
or naked and clothe you?
When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’
And the king will say to them in reply,
‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did
for one of the least brothers of mine you did for me.'”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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When we consider some of the bigger challenges facing our world, like poverty, hunger, unpredictable weather, and gun violence, it’s easy to throw our hands up and say these problems are almost too big to be solved.

But maybe you’ve heard the African proverb, “When you pray, move your feet.” 

Even if we can only make a splash, a tiny difference in this world, do it.

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Consider the life of Father Peter Claver, a Spanish priest from the 17^th century, whose feast day we celebrate today.

Distraught over the injustice of the slave trade, he moved to Cartagena, Colombia, and vowed to become, “a slave to slaves forever.”

For 33 years, Father Claver woke up every morning and went to the shipping docks, where men, women, and children were being unloaded after harrowing journeys across the Atlantic, then sold into slavery.

While he couldn’t stop this horrific practice, Father Claver courageously welcomed God’s little flock with food and water while preaching the Gospel.

He was a flicker of light – the face of Christ – in what was an otherwise dark and scary time. By the end of his life, Peter baptized over 300,000 people, giving them something to hope for – God’s justice in a new life to come.

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While we may not resolve every challenge facing our world today, Father Claver reminds us that we can make a difference.

Bring a cup of water to the thirsty; a word of love to the lonely; a blanket to the homeless; or the Gospel to someone who’s never heard it.

When you pray, move your feet.

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What’s something small that you can do to bring comfort to another person today?

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Father Peter Claver, pray for us.

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Image credits: (1) Silent Knight (2) Pinterest (3) Sermon Quotes