“If a person doesn’t contribute to your success or well-being, drop that person. Remove negative people who weigh you down. Cut out toxic people!” These are suggestions from many social media influencers. It’s a nice idea, especially when you want to protect the peace, avoid abuse, and try to be better as a person. But I believe these statements can be harmful in the long run.

To be honest, all people are toxic—you and me included! We just have different levels of toxicity. So if we apply those statements, we might end up with no friends, no family, and no meaningful relationships. No toxicity, yes. But relationships are always messy. They are God-given opportunities to grow in real love. We learn patience when we encounter annoying people. We learn mercy and forgiveness when people hurt and offend us. So instead of cutting out toxicity, why not pray for a bigger heart? Instead of cutting out people, let’s cut off pride, judgment, envy, and anger from our hearts. After all, God could have easily cut us off, but He remains patient and loving despite our toxicity.

Velden Lim (veldenlim.firedup@gmail.com) 

reflect

Think about your relationships. What do you need to do so you can grow in love?

Father, may I be merciful to others just as You are merciful to me. 

St. Theodora of Alexandria, pray for us.

Let us ensure that love is the outer garment of our lives. In our relationships, let us always make love our first and most important goal. Whatever we do or say should be out of love. This way, we imitate Jesus. Love has the power to change peoples’ lives for the better. Let us seek to love first and foremost in our lives.

¹² Brothers and sisters: Put on, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, ¹³ bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if one has a grievance against another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do. ¹⁴ And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection. ¹⁵ And let the peace of Christ control your hearts, the peace into which you were also called in one Body. And be thankful. ¹⁶ Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. ¹⁷ And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 150:1-2, 3-4, 5-6

R: Let everything that breathes praise the Lord!

¹ Praise the Lord in his sanctuary, praise him in the firmament of his strength. ² Praise him for his mighty deeds, praise him for his sovereign majesty. (R) ³ Praise him with the blast of the trumpet, praise him with lyre and harp, ⁴ praise him with timbrel and dance, praise him with strings and pipe. (R) ⁵ Praise him with sounding cymbals, praise him with clanging cymbals. ⁶ Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Alleluia. (R) 

Gospel | Luke 6:27-38

It seems ridiculous to love our enemies, yet the radical nature of the Gospel comes to the fore when we do this. Here, we experience the true power of the Gospel. It enables us to love those who, in worldly terms, are our enemies. This is the challenge we face day in and day out. Here, the “rubber hits the road,” so to speak. When confronted with the challenge to love our enemies, we discover how deeply we have drunk from the waters of salvation.

Gospel Acclamation

If we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us.

²⁷ Jesus said to his disciples: “To you who hear I say, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ²⁸ bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. ²⁹ 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. ³⁰ Give to everyone who asks of you, and from the one who takes what is yours do not demand it back. ³¹ Do to others as you would have them do to you. ³² For if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. ³³ And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same. ³⁴ 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. ³⁵ 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. ³⁶ Be merciful, just as also your Father is merciful. ³⁷ “Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven. ³⁸ 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.”

Read the Bible in one year! Read JEREMIAH 39 - 42 today.

Every time September 11 comes, I always have that eerie feeling within me. How could such violence happen in this modern time? But one good thing that emerged from the 9/11 tragedy are the accounts of those who survived, reminding us of the giftedness of each day. If we can appreciate this gift of life that we have in Christ, then each day becomes a call for us to lead moral lives, not just a list of “dos” and “don’ts” but an overflow of love from our innermost being. It is a call for us to live in the love of Christ who is love Himself.

Love is more of “being” than “doing.” It is always easier to do things, to obey laws and precepts, to observe teachings for as long as they do not affect our being and person. Everything changes when it is our person that is violated and transgressed because that is when we are most inhuman. When every good deed is reduced to a mere act and social contract, we cease to live authentically because we lose our essence of being love. As a result, peace becomes elusive because we think more of technicalities than of persons.

To disregard our being as persons to be loved and capable of loving means we have lost hope in humanity, which is actually the opposite of love. But when we love, we have hope because persons are intrinsically good. That is why Jesus asks us “to love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you” (Luke 6:27-29). This is very difficult if we see love as doing than being. 

Fr. Nick Lalog

reflection question

Why is it difficult for you to love by being kind and forgiving, or simply by being considerate of others?

Remind us, dear Jesus, that we are all brothers and sisters, each one forgiven and loved—most of all, blessed! May we keep this truth of our being so that we strive to love like You without measure. Amen.

Today, I pray for: _____________________________________