Driving in today’s traffic often tests my patience. Aggressive drivers and motorcyclists weaving through traffic, especially at stoplights or when I’m signaling a turn, can be incredibly frustrating. My first impulse is to react with anger by honking  or blocking  them. 

But our key verse offers a powerful counterpoint to these knee-jerk reactions. It challenges me to consider that perhaps the other driver is rushing to an emergency, is distracted, has a big concern at work or at home, or simply made a mistake. It’s not about condoning bad driving, but about choosing a merciful response over escalating the situation with anger. Perhaps that motorcyclist is trying to get to work or has a family to feed. Choosing patience and understanding, even when it’s difficult, reflects a desire to emulate God’s mercy. It’s a reminder that I, too, need grace and understanding at times. 

Practicing mercy on the road isn’t easy (so help me God), but it’s a small way to cultivate compassion and reflect the character of Christ in everyday moments.

Reng D. Morelos (norinamorelos@gmail.com)

reflect

“If a man finds it very hard to forgive injuries . . . let him remember that when he says the ‘Our Father’, every day, instead of asking pardon for his sins, he is calling down vengeance on himself.” (St. Philip Neri)

Lord, help me to extend to others the mercy I have received from You.

St. Peter Martinez, pray for us.

True love must be the foundation for interpreting and applying the law in any given situation. Even if an action is morally correct, if it scandalizes another and leads them into sin, it is best to refrain—provided that such restraint is not sinful in itself.

¹ Brothers and sisters: Knowledge inflates with pride, but love builds up. ² If anyone supposes he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. ³ But if one loves God, one is known by him. ⁴ So about the eating of meat sacrificed to idols: we know that there is no idol in the world, and that there is no God but one. ⁵ Indeed, even though there are so-called gods in heaven and on earth (there are, to be sure, many “gods” and many “lords”), ⁶ yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom all things are and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things are and through whom we exist. ⁷ But not all have this knowledge. There are some who have been so used to idolatry up until now that, when they eat meat sacrificed to idols, their conscience, which is weak, is defiled. ¹¹ Thus through your knowledge, the weak person is brought to destruction, the brother for whom Christ died. ¹² When you sin in this way against your brothers and wound their consciences, weak as they are, you are sinning against Christ. ¹³ Therefore, if food causes my brother to sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I may not cause my brother to sin.

Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 139:1-3, 13-14, 23-24

R: Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way.

¹ O Lord, you have probed me and you know me; ² you know when I sit and when I stand; you understand my thoughts from afar. ³ My journeys and my rest you scrutinize, with all my ways you are familiar. (R) ¹³ Truly you have formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother’s womb. ¹⁴ I give you thanks that I am fearfully, wonderfully made; wonderful are your works. (R) ²³ Probe me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts; ²⁴ See if my way is crooked, and lead me in the way of old. (R)

Gospel | Luke 6:27-38

This is what true love is—loving others even when there is little or no hope of being loved in return. In the Scriptures, this dynamic shows the depth of God’s love for us: He sent Jesus to die for us even while we are sinners (refer to Romans 5; John 3:16; and 1 John). This is a powerful argument because we know its corollary is true—we are inclined to do a good deed in return for another good deed.

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.”

Reflect

What does true love mean for you? From whom have you received this kind of love? To whom will you give this love?

Read the Bible in one year! Read PSALMS 81 - 85 today.

A parishioner from a previous parish raised hell when a co-parishioner accidentally hit his car in the parking lot of the parish church. That started the heated argument. Was it too much to ask both parties to be in a forgiving mood since the Mass had just ended? 

The message of today’s Gospel is difficult to accept and comprehend. It goes against what is natural for us as human beings. Jesus offers us one of His most challenging teachings: to love our enemies. He doesn’t simply ask us to love those who love us or even those who are indifferent to us, but rather, He calls us to a higher standard, saying, “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you” (Luke 6:27-31). 

I once saw a reel on Facebook that says if a person was bitten by a snake, the immediate tendency is to chase after the snake and kill it. Oddly enough, the first aid treatment for a snake bite is to lie down and relax so the poison that entered the bloodstream will not circulate fast enough to reach the heart. The video says we do not seek vengeance for ourselves, but let others deal with hunting down the snake. It is the same thing with some situations in life. There are many “snakes” around us—people who do us harm. We should not waste our energy on vengeance. Let us pray for them and their conversion. Let us also pray that God will take away our anger and heal us. 

Loving one’s enemy means we will not let the actions of others control us. We don’t allow external forces to destroy what God has made beautiful in us. Loving or hating is always a matter of choice. We can choose to always reflect God’s love and mercy. Let us always take the higher road! 

Fr. Ricky Montañez, AA

reflection question

For you, what does it mean to “take the higher road?”

Lord, in life’s hardest moments, help me stand firm in Your grace and find peace in Your mercy and justice. Amen.

Today, I pray for: _____________________________________