First Reading: LV 19:1-2, 17-18
The LORD said to Moses, "Speak to the whole Israelite community and tell them: Be holy, for I, the LORD, your God, am holy.
"You shall not bear hatred for your brother or sister in your heart. Though you may have to reprove your fellow citizen, do not incur sin because of him. Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against any of your people. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.".
Responsorial Psalm: PS 103:1-2, 3-4, 8, 10, 12-13
Second Reading: 1 COR 3:16-23
Brothers and sisters:
Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy that person; for the temple of God, which you are, is holy.
Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you considers himself wise in this age, let him become a fool, so as to become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in the eyes of God, for it is written: God catches the wise in their own ruses, and again: The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.
So let no one boast about human beings, for everything belongs to you, Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the world or life or death, or the present or the future: all belong to you, and you to Christ, and Christ to God.
Gospel: MT 5:38-48
Jesus said to his disciples: "You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other one as well. If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic, hand over your cloak as well. Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go for two miles. Give to the one who asks of you, and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow.
"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
By Bernard M. Borja
A man watched his brother die when his tormentors finally executed him after hours of torture. He couldn't do anything. He just swore by himself to avenge his brother. Ten years later, he looked for each of his brother's tormentor one by one and killed them with several gunshots. He tried looking for another meaning in his life after he successfully avenged his brother.
A young girl and her mom were literally kicked out of their house after a filthy rich rival of the mother forcibly bought the property. The young girl swore that in time, she will make that person pay for what she did to her family. When the girl grew up, she became successful and wealthy. Remembering how her family suffered, she then promised herself that she will dedicate the rest of her life in giving to the homeless. She is now one of the people who build homes for the poor.
Two stories, similar beginnings, different endings. Both can be a good plot for a movie or a teleserye. But people today may find the first story more interesting. It can involve more action scenes especially the vengeance part when the main character did his best to find those who killed his brother. Scenes may include gunfight, fistfight, driving a truck then hitting one of his targets... etc. It can be a blockbuster hit for the "thrill-seeking" moviegoer.
The second story, though inspiring, may not interest most audiences. It can be a common story of struggle in life, rising above, and helping others. But how do we really look at the common nowadays? What is uncommon for us? Maybe if she avenged her family and made her mother's rival suffer, it would be a more interesting story as people will be motivated to do the same. To get back at those who have wronged us. To fight fire with fire. In the more common language today, revenge is how we can rise from our adversities in life. If one commits theft, everything will be taken from him when proven guilty. If one commits murder, people will say it is right and he deserves death because of what he did.
Jesus reminds us that giving will always be better than taking. When we give, we actually gain. When we take something away from someone, we actually lose something. But we ask, what would that gain be? It might be less interesting if I say, we can gain selflessness when we give. It's a more common path that most of us want, but do not choose because we are more interested in "thrill-seeking"; where we give much complicated meanings since we are motivated in a way that seeing someone who has wronged us suffer the way we did (oftentimes, we wish they suffer more). But we can also say, the more we give the more we receive. But in this saying, the motivation of receiving becomes our only mindset and reason why we really give.
Why don't we look at giving as a never ending path to be perfect just like Jesus, and we become better as we go on even though we don't really arrive at perfection? That we become higher than our adversities because we live above those wrong motivations that oftentimes control us and blinds us from what is the better path?
Every time there is a fire, may it be as small as the fire in a grill or as massive as it takes away homes, we all know that we cannot stop fire with fire. It can be stopped mainly by water, but it can also be turned off by covering it with a large blanket, reducing the air around the fire that sustains it. We can never fight fire with fire.
By Bernard M. Borja
A man watched his brother die when his tormentors finally executed him after hours of torture. He couldn't do anything. He just swore by himself to avenge his brother. Ten years later, he looked for each of his brother's tormentor one by one and killed them with several gunshots. He tried looking for another meaning in his life after he successfully avenged his brother.
***
***
The second story, though inspiring, may not interest most audiences. It can be a common story of struggle in life, rising above, and helping others. But how do we really look at the common nowadays? What is uncommon for us? Maybe if she avenged her family and made her mother's rival suffer, it would be a more interesting story as people will be motivated to do the same. To get back at those who have wronged us. To fight fire with fire. In the more common language today, revenge is how we can rise from our adversities in life. If one commits theft, everything will be taken from him when proven guilty. If one commits murder, people will say it is right and he deserves death because of what he did.
Jesus reminds us that giving will always be better than taking. When we give, we actually gain. When we take something away from someone, we actually lose something. But we ask, what would that gain be? It might be less interesting if I say, we can gain selflessness when we give. It's a more common path that most of us want, but do not choose because we are more interested in "thrill-seeking"; where we give much complicated meanings since we are motivated in a way that seeing someone who has wronged us suffer the way we did (oftentimes, we wish they suffer more). But we can also say, the more we give the more we receive. But in this saying, the motivation of receiving becomes our only mindset and reason why we really give.
Why don't we look at giving as a never ending path to be perfect just like Jesus, and we become better as we go on even though we don't really arrive at perfection? That we become higher than our adversities because we live above those wrong motivations that oftentimes control us and blinds us from what is the better path?
***
Prayer
I would like to pray one of the most common prayers that we Catholics know, and yet, one of the most powerful for us to realign our motivations:
Prayer for Generosity (by San Ignacio)
Dearest Lord, teach us to be generous. Teach us to serve You as we should. To give and not to count the cost, to fight and not to heed the wounds. To toil and not to seek for rest, to labor and ask not for reward. Save, that of knowing that we do Your most Holy Will.
With the intercession of our dear Mama Mary, we pray for our country and our people, that we may find peace in our hearts to forgive and love those who have wronged us:
Hail Mary full of grace the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of our death.
To give all glory to God as we realign our motivations and love our enemies:
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, As it was in the beginning is now, and will be forever. Amen.
I would like to pray one of the most common prayers that we Catholics know, and yet, one of the most powerful for us to realign our motivations:
Prayer for Generosity (by San Ignacio)
Dearest Lord, teach us to be generous. Teach us to serve You as we should. To give and not to count the cost, to fight and not to heed the wounds. To toil and not to seek for rest, to labor and ask not for reward. Save, that of knowing that we do Your most Holy Will.
With the intercession of our dear Mama Mary, we pray for our country and our people, that we may find peace in our hearts to forgive and love those who have wronged us:
Hail Mary full of grace the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of our death.
To give all glory to God as we realign our motivations and love our enemies:
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, As it was in the beginning is now, and will be forever. Amen.
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