Thursday
of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 440
Reading 1
Brothers and sisters:
Knowledge inflates with pride, but love builds up.
If anyone supposes he knows something,
he does not yet know as he ought to know.
But if one loves God, one is known by him.
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.
Indeed, even though there are so-called gods in heaven and on earth
(there are, to be sure, many “gods” and many “lords”),
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.
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.
Thus, through your knowledge, the weak person is brought to
destruction,
the brother for whom Christ died.
When you sin in this way against your brothers
and wound their consciences, weak as they are,
you are sinning against Christ.
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
R. (24b) Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way.
O LORD, you have probed me and you know me;
you know when I sit and when I stand;
you understand my thoughts from afar.
My journeys and my rest you scrutinize,
with all my ways you are familiar.
R. Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way.
Truly you have formed my inmost being;
you knit me in my mother’s womb.
I give you thanks that I am fearfully, wonderfully made;
wonderful are your works.
R. Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way.
Probe me, O God, and know my heart;
try me, and know my thoughts;
See if my way is crooked,
and lead me in the way of old.
R. Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
If we love one another,
God remains in us,
and his love is brought to perfection in us.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Jesus said to his disciples:
“To you who hear I say, love your enemies,
do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you,
pray for those who mistreat you.
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.
Give to everyone who asks of you,
and from the one who takes what is yours do not demand it back.
Do to others as you would have them do to you.
For if you love those who love you,
what credit is that to you?
Even sinners love those who love them.
And if you do good to those who do good to you,
what credit is that to you?
Even sinners do the same.
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.
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.
Be merciful, just as also your Father is merciful.
“Stop judging and you will not be judged.
Stop condemning and you will not be condemned.
Forgive and you will be forgiven.
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.”
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/091020.cfm
Meditation: Do
Good to Those Who Hate You
What
makes Christians different and what makes Christianity distinct from any other
religion? It is grace - treating others, not as they deserve,
but as God wishes them to be treated - with loving-kindness and mercy. God is good
to the unjust as well as the just. His love embraces saint and sinner alike.
God seeks our highest good and teaches us to seek the greatest good of others,
even those who hate and abuse us. Our love for others, even those who are
ungrateful and selfish towards us, must be marked by the same kindness and
mercy which God has shown to us. It is easier to show kindness and mercy when
we can expect to benefit from doing so. How much harder when we can expect
nothing in return.
Give and forgive - the two wings of prayer
Augustine of Hippo (354-430 AD) describes Jesus double precept togive and
forgive as two essential wings of prayer:
Forgive
and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given you. These are the two
wings of prayer on which it flies to God. Pardon the offender what has been
committed, and give to the person in need" (Sermon 205.3). "Let
us graciously and fervently perform these two types of almsgiving, that is,
giving and forgiving, for we in turn pray the Lord to give us things and not to
repay our evil deeds" (Sermon 206.2).
Bless and do not curse
Our prayer for those who do us ill both breaks the power of revenge and
releases the power of love to do good in the face of evil. How can we possibly
love those who cause us harm or ill-will? With God all things are possible. He
gives power and grace to those who believe in and accept the gift of the Holy
Spirit. His love conquers all, even our hurts, fears, prejudices and griefs.
Only the cross of Jesus Christ can free us from the tyranny of malice, hatred,
revenge, and resentment and gives us the courage to return evil with good. Such
love and grace has power to heal and to save from destruction. That is why Paul
the Apostle tells those who know the love and mercy of Jesus Christ to
"bless and not curse.. nor take revenge.. and to overcome evil with
good" (Romans 12:14,17,21). Do you know the power of God's love, mercy,
and righteousness (moral goodness) for overcoming evil with good?
Lord
Jesus, your love brings freedom and pardon. Fill me with your Holy Spirit and
set my heart free with your merciful love that nothing may make me lose my
temper, ruffle my peace, take away my joy, nor make me bitter towards anyone.
Daily
Quote from the Early Church Fathers: The virtue of charity, by
Ambrose of Milan, 339-397 A.D.
"Love
is commanded when it is said, 'Love your enemies'" so that the saying
which was uttered already before the church may be fulfilled: 'Set in order
love in me' (Song of Solomon 2:4). For love is set in order when the precepts
of love are formed. See how it began from the heights and cast the law
underneath the backs of the Gospel's blessing. The law commands the revenge of
punishment (see Exodus 21:23-36). The gospel bestows love for hostility,
benevolence for hatred, prayer for curses, help for the persecuted, patience
for the hungry and grace of reward. How much more perfect the athlete who does
not feel injury!" (excerpt from EXPOSITION OF THE GOSPEL OF
LUKE 5.73)
https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, LUKE 6:27-38
Weekday
(1 Corinthians 8:1b-7, 11-13; Psalm 139)
KEY VERSE: "Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful" (v. 36).
TO KNOW: Luke's "Sermon on the Plain" is the counterpart to Matthew's "Sermon on the Mount" (Mt 5-7). In Luke, Jesus was preaching on a plain to show his humble bond with his followers. In the midst of a hostile political system, Jesus encouraged his followers to bear persecution and suffering as he did. Typical of Luke's gospel, God's "mercy" is stressed rather than "perfection" as in Matthew (5:48). For Luke, Jesus' disciples were children of a compassionate Father and they should imitate God's mercy. Central to Jesus' teaching was love of neighbor and forgiveness of one's enemies. He spoke out against vindictiveness in retaliation of mistreatment or injury. Jesus' commands are clear: Love! Bless! Give! Forgive! Stop judging! Stop condemning! He encouraged his followers to overcome hatred and oppression just as he did, not through power, but through kindness, forgiveness and love.
TO LOVE: To whom do I need to show mercy today?
TO SERVE: Lord Jesus, for the sake of your sorrowful passion, have mercy on me, a sinner.
http://www.togetherwithgodsword.com/commentaries-on-the-daily-gospel-of-the-mass.html
Thursday 10 September 2020
1 Corinthians 8:1-7, 11-13. Guide me, Lord, along the
everlasting way – Psalm 138(139):1-3, 13-14, 23-24. Luke 6:27-38.
‘But to you who hear I say, love your enemies’
A wise person once said, ‘Resentment is like drinking poison and
waiting for someone else to die.’ In today’s reading, we hear that Jesus tells
us to love bullies, slanderers and yes, even that kid from Year 6. It can be
hard when our egos are bruised or hearts are broken. We tell anyone that will
listen, air our grievances and hope they take our side.
One of my friends has a saying, ‘Manure stinks, but it’s warm.’
Anger can feel good – at first. It can be comforting, like an old friend. But
then it stays too long. It consumes our hope, our joy, our faith. Until we are
hopeless, joyless, faithless.
Praying for our enemies can be a start. Whenever someone we
resent comes to mind, pray for them. If we really want to forgive someone, we
can pray for everything we want for ourselves for that person. Yes, even that
trip to Tahiti, losing those last five pounds or getting that raise. That’s
true generosity of spirit.
Lord, help us love others as you love us. Help us to love our
enemies as much as we love our family and friends.
http://www.pray.com.au/gospel_reflection/thursday-10-september-2020/
Saint Thomas of Villanova
Saint of the Day for September 10
(1488 – September 8, 1555)
Santo Tomás de Villanueva | Francisco Camilo
Saint Thomas of Villanova’s Story
Saint Thomas was from Castile in Spain and received his
surname from the town where he was raised. He received a superior education at
the University of Alcala and became a popular professor of philosophy there.
After joining the Augustinian friars at Salamanca, Thomas was
ordained and resumed his teaching–despite a continuing absentmindedness and
poor memory. He became prior and then provincial of the friars, sending the
first Augustinians to the New World. He was nominated by the emperor to the
archbishopric of Granada, but refused. When the see again became vacant he was
pressured to accept. The money his cathedral chapter gave him to furnish his
house was given to a hospital instead. His explanation to them was that “our
Lord will be better served by your money being spent on the poor in the
hospital. What does a poor friar like myself want with furniture?”
He wore the same habit that he had received in the novitiate,
mending it himself. The canons and domestics were ashamed of him, but they
could not convince him to change. Several hundred poor came to Thomas’s door
each morning and received a meal, wine, and money. When criticized because he
was at times being taken advantage of, he replied, “If there are people who
refuse to work, that is for the governor and the police to deal with. My duty
is to assist and relieve those who come to my door.” He took in orphans and
paid his servants for every deserted child they brought to him. He encouraged
the wealthy to imitate his example and be richer in mercy and charity than they
were in earthly possessions.
Criticized because he refused to be harsh or swift in correcting
sinners, Thomas said, “Let him (the complainer) inquire whether
Saint Augustine and Saint John Chrysostom used anathemas and
excommunication to stop the drunkenness and blasphemy which were so common
among the people under their care.”
As he lay dying, Thomas commanded that all the money he
possessed be distributed to the poor. His material goods were to be given to
the rector of his college. Mass was being celebrated in his presence when after
Communion he breathed his last, reciting the words: “Into your hands, O Lord, I
commend my spirit.”
In his lifetime Thomas of Villanova was already called “the
almsgiver” and “the father of the poor.” He was canonized in 1658. His
Liturgical Feast Day is September 22.
Reflection
The absent-minded professor is a stock comic figure. Thomas of
Villanova earned even more derisive laughs with his determined shabbiness and
his willingness to let the poor who flocked to his door take advantage of him.
He embarrassed his peers, but Jesus was enormously pleased with him. We are
often tempted to tend our image in others’ eyes without paying sufficient
attention to how we look to Christ. Thomas still urges us to rethink our
priorities.
https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-thomas-of-villanova/
Lectio Divina: Luke 6:27-38
Lectio Divina
Thursday, September 10, 2020
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
God our Father,
You redeem us
and make us Your children in Christ.
Look upon us,
give us true freedom
and bring us to the inheritance You promised.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - Luke 6:27-38
Jesus said to his disciples: "To you who hear I say, love
your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray
for those who mistreat you. 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. Give to everyone who asks of you, and from the one
who takes what is yours do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have
them do to you. For if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?
Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good
to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same. 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. 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. Be merciful, just as also your Father is
merciful. "Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and
you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven. 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."
3) Reflection
• In today’s Gospel we have the second part of the “discourse on
the plain.” In the first part (Lk 6:20-26), Jesus addresses Himself to the
disciples (Lk 6:20). In the second part (Lk 6: 27-49), He addresses Himself “to
you who listen to Me,” that is, the great crowds of poor and sick people, who
had come from all parts (Lk 6:17-19).
• Luke 6:27-30: Love your enemies! The words that Jesus addresses to these
people are demanding and difficult: to love your enemies, not to curse them, to
present the other cheek to anyone who slaps you on one cheek, and do not
protest or complain when somebody takes what is yours. Taken literally, these
commands seem to favor the rich who rob,but not even Jesus observes them literally.
When the soldier struck Him on the face, He did not offer the other cheek but
rather reacted firmly: “If there is some offense in what I said, point it out,
but if not why do you strike Me?” (Jn 18: 22-23). Then, how are these words to
be understood? The following verses help us to understand what Jesus wants to
teach us.
• Luke 6:31-36: The Golden Rule! to imitate God. Two sayings of Jesus help us
to understand what He wants to teach. The first saying is the so called Golden
Rule: “Treat others as you would like people to treat you!” (Lk 6:31). The
second saying is “Be merciful as your Father in Heaven is merciful!” (Lk 6:36).
These two directives indicate that Jesus does not want simply to change the
situation, because nothing would change. He wants to change the system. The
novelty which He wants to construct comes from the new experience of God the
Father, full of tenderness who accepts all! The words of threat against the
rich cannot be the occasion of revenge on the part of the poor! Jesus demands
the contrary attitude: “Love your enemies!” Love cannot depend on what I
receive from others. True love should want the good of others, independently of
what he or she does for me. Love should be creative, because that is how God’s
love is for us: “Be merciful, as your Heavenly Father is merciful!” Matthew
says the same thing with other words: “Be perfect as your Father in Heaven is
perfect” (Mt 5:48). Never will anyone be able to say, “Today I have been
perfect as the Father in Heaven is perfect! I have been merciful as the Father
in Heaven is merciful.” We will always be below the measure which Jesus has
placed before us.
In Luke’s Gospel, the Golden Rule says, “Treat others as you would like people
to treat you!” (Lk 6:31). Matthew, in his Gospel, gives a different
formulation: “Treat others as you would like others to treat you.” And he adds,
“That is the Law and the Prophets” (Mt 7,12). Practically, all religions in the
whole world have the same Golden Rule with a diverse formulation. This is a
sign that a universal intuition or desire is expressed which comes from God and
is part of our being in the image of God.
• Luke 6:37-38: “Do not judge and you will not be judged; do not condemn and
you will not be condemned; forgive and you will be forgiven; give and there
will be gifts for you; a full measure, pressed down, shaken together, and
overflowing, will be poured into your lap; because the standard you use will be
the standard used for you.” These are four counsels: two in a negative form, do
not judge and do not condemn; and two in positive form: to forgive and to give
an abundant measure. When He says, “there will be gifts for you,” Jesus refers
to the treatment which God wants to bestow on us. But when our way of treating
others is mean, God cannot use with us the abundant and overflowing measure
that He would want to use.
Celebrate the visit of God. The Discourse on the Plains or the Sermon on the
Mount, from the beginning, leads the listeners to make a choice, to opt, in
favor of the poor. In the Old Testament, several times, God placed before
people this same choice, blessing or curse. People were given the freedom to
choose: “Today I call heaven and earth to witness against you: I am offering
you life or death, blessing or curse. Choose life, then, so that you and your
descendants may live” (Deut 30:19).It is not God who condemns, but the people
themselves according to the choice that they make between life and death, good
or evil. These moments of choosing are moments of the visit of God to His people
(Gen 21:1; 50:24-25); Ex 3:16; 32:34; Jr 20:10; Ps 65:10; Ps 80:15; Ps 106: 4).
Luke is the only Evangelist who uses this image of the visit of God (Lk 1:68,
78; 7:16; 19:44; Acts 15:16). For Luke it is the visit of God which
places the choice between blessing or curse before people: “Blessed are
you who are poor” and “Alas for you, the rich!” But people do not recognize the
visit of God (Lk 19:44).
4) Personal questions
• Do we look at life and at people with the same viewpoint as
Jesus?
• What does it mean today “be merciful as your Heavenly Father is merciful”?
• Am I as literal as Jesus in love and mercy, or do I rationalize it away and
compartmentalize it so it doesn’t apply to situations in my life?
5) Concluding Prayer
Yahweh, You examine me and know me,
You know when I sit,
when I rise,
You understand my thoughts from afar.
You watch when I walk or lie down,
You know every detail of my conduct. (Ps 139:1-3)
https://ocarm.org/en/content/lectio/lectio-divina-luke-627-38
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