September 10, 2015
Thursday of the
Twenty-third week in Ordinary Time
Put on then, as
God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility,
gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another,
if one has a grievance against another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so must
you also do.
And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection.
And let the peace of Christ control your hearts, the peace into which you were
also called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you
richly, as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another, singing psalms,
hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever
you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving
thanks to God the Father through him.
Hallelujah!
Praise God in His holy sanctuary; give praise in the mighty dome of heaven.
Give praise for His mighty deeds, praise Him for His great majesty.
Give praise with
blasts upon the horn, praise Him with harp and lyre. Give praise with
tambourines and dance, praise Him with strings and pipes.
Give praise with
crashing cymbals, praise Him with sounding cymbals. Let everything that has
breath give praise to the LORD! Hallelujah!
"But 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."
Reflection:
It is grace that makes Christians different and Christianity
distinct from any other religion; treating others, not as they deserve, but as
God desires them to be treated, with loving-kindness and mercy, that is.
God is good to the undeserved as well as the just. His love seals both the saint and sinner
alike.
God seeks man’s highest good and
teaches her/him to seek the greatest good of others, even the abhorrent and
abusive.
Love for the ungrateful and selfish must be marked by the
same compassion and mercy which God has shown.
It is easier to show kindness and mercy when anticipating for a return/benefit. How much harder when expecting nothing in
return?
Prayers for those who wronged us break the power of vengeance
and liberate the power of love to do the opposite in the face of evil.
With God all things are possible in loving those who
cause us harm and ill-will. He bestows power and grace upon those who
believe and accept the gift of the Holy Spirit.
His love triumph over one’s hurts, dreads, intolerance and sorrows.
Only the cross of Jesus Christ can free from the oppression
of malice, hatred, retaliation, and antipathy, giving us the audacity to return
evil with good. This kind of love and
grace heals and saves from devastation.
Amen!
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Dear Humanity,
I personally encourage everyone to emulate JESUS' values on LOVE, FAITH, HOPE
and CHARITY, as the humanity has been a failure; which resulted to the more than two (2) years of pandemic and its after-effects on economy, not only here in the Philippines but worldwide.
And the saddest part of it, is that, it affected the POOREST of the POOR to even extremely be more poorer, in exchange of the affluent to be more richer.
Thank you and may GOD bless you and the whole family to have an enjoyed life's journey at home, Church, schools/universities, corporate commitments, public and places of interest.