The command to “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” is perhaps one of the most challenging lines in the Bible. Yet when we strive to carry this out we begin to conform our lives to Jesus, allowing his grace in us to make it possible.
Mass Readings – Saturday of the 1st Week of Lent
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Yep, you heard that right. Love your enemies. Love one another when it’s hard and unpleasant and we don’t feel like it. Love the people who push all our buttons and make us see red. Love the people who have hurt us. How? By asking for the Love of Jesus Christ to dwell in our hearts.
Mass Readings – 7th Sunday of the Year
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Study: Reflect on a time when you experienced mercy. How did it feel to be forgiven and treated with kindness?
Pray: Is there someone in your life who is difficult to love? Pray for the wisdom and insight to act like Jesus.
Serve: How can you bring help to a difficult and painful situation right now?
Mass Readings – 7th Sunday of the Year
Here’s a quick overview of the readings this week:
The phrase “love your enemies” sounds great…until you have to do it. When we have been wounded, mocked, ridiculed or wounded by another it is natural to cry out for justice. Furthermore, there is something within us that longs to get even – to lash out and get back at another – even to the point of inflicting pain or getting revenge.
Clearly the Lord teaches us to go in a different direction with his exhortation to love. After all, we are commanded to:
Now let’s be clear. This is hard! If our natural inclination is to strike out when we’ve been hurt, how do we find the strength to put the teaching of Jesus into practice?
The answer lies in Christ himself. As we grow closer to the Lord we find that we receive the grace we need to love as he loves us. For remember, when we hate, curse, mistreat, judge or condemn the Lord still loves us, forgives us, and invites us to come back into the light of his love.
If God is willing to do that for us, then my friends, today we pray for the grace to love others according to his example.
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The kids at Cathedral School are reminded by the Lord’s command to love one another, even when it is hard. That begs a question: who in your life is a challenge to love today? Ask God for the grace to love them as the Lord loves us.
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Loving other people sounds like a wonderful thing…until we encounter a situation that is hostile, antagonistic, and angry. Yet when we strive to love others in these painful situations we find ourselves drawing near to Jesus, who teaches us to love our enemies and gives us the grace to do so.
Mass Readings – Thursday of the 23rd Week of the Year
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While the phrase “love one another” sounds great when we like the people in question, the real test of faith occurs when it’s tough. The command of Jesus to “love your enemies” will demand us to become like the Lord – who even forgave those who nailed him to the Cross. To do this we call upon God for the grace we need to be filled with the love of Christ so that we can share his love in all moments of life…even when surrounded by enemies.
Mass Readings – Saturday of the 1st Week of Lent
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Mass Readings – Saturday of the 1st Week of Lent
“Love your enemies” might be one of the toughest lines in the Bible to carry out. Yet this command – to love as God loves us – is the test of our discipleship. May we call upon the Lord for the grace we need to follow the example of Jesus, loving one another…even our enemies.
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