Jun 20, 2024 | DAILY BREAD
Saint Aloysius Gonzaga, Religious
Friday of week 11 in Ordinary Time
Gospel – Matthew 22:34-40
“The second resembles it”. The first commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second resembles the first. The second is the “You must love you neighbour as yourself”. This second resembles the first. Loving the neighbour resembles the loving the Lord. This is very important to remember that the second commandment resembles the first. So, if we are not following the second, we are not following the first. Because the second resembles the first. The first commandment cannot be followed if we are not following the second because the second resembles the first. This inter-relatedness between the commandment to love God our Lord and to love our neighbour as ourselves is so intrinsic that the two commandments go hand in hand always. Let’s reflect: Do I recognize when I separate the commandment to love God and to love our neighbour?
Jun 19, 2024 | DAILY BREAD
Thursday of week 11 in Ordinary Time
Gospel – Matthew 6:7-15
In this famous passage, we have the Lord’s prayer. But before the prayer and after the prayer, Jesus teaches us how to prepare for saying this prayer and how to behave after prayer. Before the prayer, we should have complete confidence in the Lord who knows what we need and what are our problems. Our prayers is not to someone who is not aware of us. We are praying to our Father in heaven who is well aware of each one of us. So this confidence, this trust of a child must be the attitude when we pray. That attitude will help us say, “Thy will be done on earth as it’s in heaven”. Then we must forgive so that our prayers are heard. Without forgiving, we will not receive forgiveness. The Lord’s prayer asks to trust like a child and to forgive like the heavenly Father. Let’s reflect: Do I have the trust of a child and forgiving attitude of the heavenly Father when I pray “Lord’s Prayer”?
Jun 18, 2024 | DAILY BREAD
Wednesday of week 11 in Ordinary Time
Saint Romuald, Abbot
Gospel – Matthew 6:1-6,16-18
“But when you give alms, your left hand must not know what your right is doing; your almsgiving must be secret, and your Father who sees all that is done in secret will reward you”. In this we can see that the relationship between God and us happens in the intimate heart and not in the public square. God sees our intentions and our desires. Whatever we do, the intention behind the action is very important. The quality of the action depends on the intention. Those who give alms in public, those who pray standing in the streets, and those who put long faces to let men know that they are fasting – the intentions are the same. They want to get the applause of those around them. They are using good actions for their selfish interests. God is not even in the scene. This is what we must be careful. When we are doing good things, keep the intimacy of heart with God. Not in the street but in the silent room of your heart. Let’s reflect: Am I using good actions to get attention from the people around me or to get connected to God who sees my heart?
Jun 17, 2024 | DAILY BREAD
Tuesday of week 11 in Ordinary Time
Gospel – Matthew 5:43-48
“You must therefore be perfect just as your heavenly Father is perfect.” This is the desire of Jesus Christ for us. And the way to become perfect, Jesus is indicating us. We must love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. This is the way to become sons and daughters of our Father in heaven. He loves everyone. And by loving in the same way, we become His sons and daughters. What is the great thing about loving the enemies? The uniqueness lies in the fact that it’s divine. To hate the enemy is human. To forgive the enemy is spiritual. To love the enemy is Christian. This is what Jesus has shown us in the cross. This love is not a passive love but active. And our prayer for the enemy becomes the first sign of our active love towards our enemies. Only in loving the enemy we do something exceptional. Otherwise, we are not following the way of Jesus Christ. Often, our love for the enemy stops by saying, “I don’t do anything against him or her”. I forgive and I don’t want anything more with him or her. This is not what Jesus wants. Jesus wants that we really love our enemies. We must start by praying for them. Let’s reflect: How far my love towards my enemy goes?
Jun 16, 2024 | DAILY BREAD
Monday of week 11 in Ordinary Time
Gospel – Matthew 5:38-42
“On the contrary, if anyone hits you on the right cheek, offer him the other as well”. This is a completely new paradigm. Accepting the violence and welcoming more into you. This is the way of the Cross. Accept the fault of the other and transform it in the cross by love for that person. This is what happened in the Cross. Jesus Christ came to save the world. He was crucified. He welcomed all His sufferings. And in the Cross He forgave us and opened the door of heaven for us. The evil cannot do harm to us because in the Cross the evil is defeated definitively. But in forgiveness the man subjected to evil is welcomed to convert and receive the light. When you don’t react back violently when someone hits you on the right cheek and you offer him the other, this reaction is something different. This gesture is a call to the person who is resorting to violence that the violence has no power. Only love has power to transform. So, in the model of Jesus Christ, all violence, forcefulness, aggressiveness loses its strength. Love becomes powerful. Let’s reflect: How much I understand according to the Gospel the weakness of aggressiveness?
