Thursday, February 18, 2016

Be extraordinary by loving your enemy


February 20, 2016

Saturday of the First Week of Lent

Reading 1

16Moses spoke to the people, saying: “This day the LORD, your God, commands you to observe these statutes and decrees. Be careful, then, to observe them with all your heart and with all your soul.

17Today you are making this agreement with the LORD: he is to be your God and you are to walk in His ways and observe His statutes, commandments and decrees, and to hearken to His voice.

18And today the LORD is making this agreement with you: you are to be a people peculiarly His own, as He promised you; and provided you keep all His commandments, 19He will then raise you high in praise and renown and glory
above all other nations he has made, and you will be a people sacred to the LORD, your God, as He promised.”

Responsorial Psalm

R. (1b) Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord! 

1Blessed are they whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the LORD.
2Blessed are they who observe His decrees, who seek Him with all their heart.

R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!

4You have commanded that your precepts be diligently kept. 5Oh, that I might be firm in the ways of keeping Your statutes!

R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!

7I will give You thanks with an upright heart, when I have learned Your just ordinances. 8I will keep Your statutes; do not utterly forsake me.

R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!

Verse Before The Gospel 2 Corinthians 6;2b

Behold, now is a very acceptable time;
behold, now is the day of salvation.

Gospel

43Jesus said to His disciples: “You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.[1] 44But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, 45that 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.

46For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors 28do the same?[2] 47And if you greet your brothers only, what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same?[3] 48So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.[4]



Notes on Readings:

[1] Matthew 5:43-48 - See Leviticus 19:18. There is no Old Testament commandment demanding hatred of one's enemy, but the "neighbor" of the love commandment was understood as one's fellow countryman. Both in the Old Testament  (Psalm 139:19-22) and at Qumran (1QS 9:21) hatred of evil persons is assumed to be right. Jesus extends the love commandment to the enemy and the persecutor. His disciples, as children of God, must imitate the example of their Father, who grants His gifts of sun and rain to both the good and the bad.

[2] Matthew 5:46 - Tax collectors: Jews who were engaged in the collection of indirect taxes such as tolls and customs. See the footnote on Mark 2:14.

[3] Matthew 5:47 - Jesus' disciples must not be content with merely usual standards of conduct; see Matthew 5:20  where the verb "surpass" (Greek perisseuo) is cognate with the unusual (perisson) of this verse.

[4] Matthew 5:48 - Perfect: in the gospels this word occurs only in Matthew, here and in Matthew 19:21 . The Lucan parallel (Matthew 6:36) demands that the disciples be merciful.

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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.