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?
Tuesday 18 June
