Word to the Wise
Tuesday, June 20, 2017 - Tuesday in the 11th Week in Ordinary Time
[2 Cor 8:1-9 and Matt 5:43-48]TUESDAY, JUNE 20, 2017 TUESDAY IN THE ELEVENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME [2 Corinthians 8:1-9 and Matthew 5:43-48] "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy,.' But I say to you, love your enemy and pray for those who persecute you, 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. For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have?" [Matthew] Jesus' command of love goes beyond refraining from physical violence. It goes to the inside emotions and motives. We can do violence without moving a finger. The violence is against ourselves if we hate anyone. I once heard it said like this: Hate is like taking poison and hoping someone else will die. Jesus touches on something that we all know, and that I hear frequently in the confessional. This is where the power of forgiveness comes in. Hate is a state of unforgiveness. Even if we have never met someone or a group that we hate, we are bound to them by our hatred. It is a destructive relationship because of the damage it does to our own hearts and souls and minds. Forgiveness releases that bond. The objects of our hatred may never know how we felt about them! But we will know the difference. Forgiveness, indeed, will make us better children of our Heavenly Father! AMEN
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