When he was young, Tom (not his real name) hated his dad. His father physically and verbally abused him and left him with deep wounds. So he treated his father like an enemy.

As Tom matured, particularly through his role as a youth leader, he strove to “just love.” He forgave his father, even if the latter didn’t say sorry.

But a few years ago, they got into an argument and couldn’t meet eye to eye. It sucked. Tom didn’t feel he was his father’s son. He felt unheard and invalidated. So his father became his enemy once more, though not in the same way when he was younger.

So again, Tom is on a journey of healing that old wound.He’s attempting to love his father in his capacity. Even from a distance. And Tom is praying to God that in time, he’ll be able to say, “I loved my enemy. And now, he isn’t anymore.”

Paolo Galia (pgalia@gmail.com)

reflect

Who are the people in your life that are so difficult to love? What is God saying to you about it?

Dear Lord, help me forgive those who’ve hurt me. And help me love them despite what they’ve done. 

St. Albert Chmielowski, pray for us.

I am not a fan of forced or prescribed tithing. For me, it is better to first instill in people their responsibility in the work of the Church and the care of her ministers, and then to preach about generous giving. This way, those who are rich and can afford to give way more than 10 percent have no excuse to hold back their wealth from the needs of God’s Kingdom.

¹ We want you to know, brothers and sisters, of the grace of God that has been given to the churches of Macedonia, ² for in a severe test of affliction, the abundance of their joy and their profound poverty overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. ³ For according to their means, I can testify, and beyond their means, spontaneously, ⁴ they begged us insistently for the favor of taking part in the service to the holy ones, ⁵ and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and to us through the will of God, ⁶ so that we urged Titus that, as he had already begun, he should also complete for you this gracious act also. ⁷ Now as you excel in every respect, in faith, discourse, knowledge, all earnestness, and in the love we have for you, may you excel in this gracious act also. ⁸ I say this not by way of command, but to test the genuineness of your love by your concern for others. ⁹ For you know the gracious act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that for your sake he became poor although he was rich, so that by his poverty you might become rich.

Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 146:2, 5-6, 6-7, 8-9

R: Praise the Lord, my soul!

² Praise the Lord, my soul! I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God while I live. (R) ⁵ Blessed he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord, his God, ⁶ who made heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in them. (R) Who keeps faith forever, ⁷ secures justice for the oppressed, gives good to the hungry. The Lord sets captives free. (R) ⁸ The Lord gives sight to the blind. The Lord raises up those who were bowed down; the Lord loves the just. ⁹ The Lord protects strangers. (R) 

Gospel | Matthew 5:43-48

Jesus commands us to love our enemies. This tells us about the nature of love that today’s world needs to learn anew: Love is a decision and is not dependent on our feelings or emotions. We need to decide to love every human being we meet. This is the nature of love and the command of the Gospel. Let us ask ourselves: If we do love others, how do we proclaim the Gospel to them?

Gospel Acclamation

I give you a new commandment: love one another as I have loved you.

⁴³ Jesus said to his disciples: “You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. ₄₄ But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵ that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors do the same? ⁴⁷ And if you greet your brothers only, what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same? 48 So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Reflect:

“We must show love to those who do evil and pray for them. Nothing isdearer or more pleasing to God than this.” (St. Bridget of Sweden)

Read the Bible in one year! Read 2 KINGS 13 - 15 today.

When I was in the midst of fundraising for the victims of Typhoon Yolanda (internationally known as Haiyan), I also went to Bohol to do relief work for the victims of the earthquake that occurred a month or so before the typhoon. I was incredibly moved to see how the victims of the earthquake were gathering—from among their remaining meager possessions—an offering for Yolanda victims. If there was a better example of the widow’s mite than what they showed, then I have not come across it.

 There is never an excuse not to be generous when it comes to our faith and our love of God and other people. It is a truism to say that there is always someone else who is worse off than you are, but it is true indeed. It all depends on our point of view. If we realize how generous God has been with us, then we will never tire of giving to others. Let us stretch our capacity in giving so that we can witness the greater provision the Lord has for our lives. This might seem to be splitting hairs, but our attitude matters when we give. If we give with joy, as advocated by Paul in his Letter to the Corinthians, it is far better, infinitely better, than giving begrudgingly.

 Saint Paul’s exhortation is expressing the truest response of gratitude to all that we have freely received from God. Let us be faithful to his words. 

Fr. Steve Tynan, MGL

reflection questions

Are you a cheerful giver, or do you give while being full of regret? Are you willing to change your attitude so that you might better reflect true gratitude to the Lord for His goodness to you?

Jesus, You have given Your life for me! May I always be willing to express my gratitude for Your love, mercy, and blessings by freely giving myself and all that I have in the service of the Gospel.

Today, I pray for: ____________________________________