HOMILY FOR THURSDAY 23RD WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME B
MOST HOLY NAME OF MARY (OPT MEM)
One prayer is very prominent in the life of a Christian. And such prayer is that God should kill our enemies. But unfortunately, God cannot kill our enemies. God can only destort or destroy the plan of our enemies (Psalm 23). Thus, we must learn to love our enemies and pray for them. Today’s Gospel passage is the second part of Jesus’ Sermon on the Plain as given by Luke. It describes the power of Christian love when exercised by practicing the golden rule:“Do to others as you would have them do to you.” This golden rule is amplified by a string of particular commands:
1) "Love your enemies…Do good to those who hate you; bless those who curse you and pray for those who maltreat you." Jesus orders us to love our enemies.
2) Show your Christian love to everyone, especially to your enemies by treating them with mercy and compassion because our Heavenly Father is merciful and compassionate to all His children. “Be compassionate, as your Father is compassionate."
3) Stop judging and start forgiving.
Dear brothers and sisters, we need to answer the invitation to grace-filled behavior: What makes Christianity distinct from any other religion is the quality known as grace, i.e., our ability to treat others, not as we think they deserve, but with love, kindness, the spirit of forgiveness and mercy. 2) We need to accept the challenges of day-to-day life. Jesus challenges our willingness to endure unjust suffering for His sake and the sake of His Gospel. 3) We need to pray for the strength to forgive. At every Mass we pray the “Our Father,” asking God to forgive us as we forgive others. We must forgive, because only forgiveness truly heals our relationships and heals us. If we remember how God has forgiven us, it will help us forgive others. 4) We need to live our lives in accordance with “the Golden Rule."
PAX VOBIS
Catholic Diocese of Ilorin, Kwara State,
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