Tuesday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time

READINGS

Gospel Matthew 5:43-48

Jesus said to his disciples: "You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that 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. For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have?Do not the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brothers only, what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same? So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect." 

REFLECTION

"You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that 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...

There were several people in recent history who heard Jesus'

message and acted on it. Mahatma Gandi, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Mother Teresa of Calcutta, are only a few of the people in recent history who understood that we must work on loving each other even when we disagree with them.

Martin Luther King, Jr., a Baptist Minister in Southern U.S.A., lived to be like the God he loved. He believed that love was the key to how people should treat each other. Rev. King believed in respect for each other and he rejected revenge or retaliation, and aggression.

He led a movement to speak up for those who were treated unjustly. He marched peacefully with his followers and preached to the crowds to bring awareness of the inequality of the treatment of black Americans. Martin Luther King, Jr. made this statement which confirms how he believed:

"Love is the greatest force in the universe. It is the heartbeat of the moral cosmos. He who loves is a participant in the being of God."

Martin Luther King, Jr. was killed on April 4, 1968. He was a disciple of Jesus Christ.

Let us pray for our Priests to speak out about the moral injustice of abortion and euthanasia and support respect for life. Here is our PAPA Prayer for Life.

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