Relentless Pursuit

I lose stuff all the time. I lose my keys (almost daily), my shoes (because they are usually in my car somewhere), my coffee cup (because I’ve set it down somewhere), my car in the parking lot (because Leprechauns must move it), my mind a lot of times (because I work with teenagers), my patience for sure (it’s a lovely family trait), and countless other items. I lose things mostly because I’m too busy and my mind is always multi-tasking doing several things at once, or I don’t pay attention to where I left things, or I’m not rooted in prayer so my patience is thin, or I’m too tired because I am always on the go. Losing stuff is fairly easy for me to do, however, finding my lost stuff varies in difficulty, process, and time. Sometimes I just need to stop what I’m doing and take a moment to think about it and I’ll remember where I put it, other times there has been couch cushions flying, tables turned upside down, pool table dismantled, refrigerators scoured through, trash picking, and once I did almost dive into a dumpster. Obviously, the amount of effort depends on the value of the lost item right? We’ve all experienced the joy, relief, gratitude, and excitement of finding something that was lost particularly if it was extremely valuable (i.e. a wedding ring) and if it was lost for a very long time. 

Now let’s make ourselves the lost item except we haven’t been misplaced, we have wandered off on our own. Good Lord, if all my lost objects had legs and could just roam around freely, I’d be in some serious trouble and literally would NEVER find anything again. Because we are free, we are free to roam, to wander, to leave, to get lost, but that does not mean that God is not in hot pursuit of us. He’s on our heels all the time because the value of His lost ones is worth the highest price, which He has already been paid in Jesus Christ. The tricky part is that we need to let ourselves be found.  Unlike in today’s gospel, we are not sheep, we live and move and have being, reason, free will, and the choice to be found or not. God makes it so easy for us to just stop in our tracks, turn around and we will literally fall into His arms. 

I think a lot of times I get caught up in the chase and what I really need is to be caught in the arms of mercy, love, and forgiveness. I run because I am fearful and ashamed and He chases me because He knows that. He just wants to hold me and to let me know that there is only rest in His embrace. I know that I relentlessly search for silly things like my keys and my sunglasses, but how much more relentless is God searching for me to just sit and hold his hand? I know that most days I feel worthless of this kind of pursuit, but today’s gospel shows me that God is not like me, He is not limited, shallow, and guilt ridden; He is infinite, deep, and free. You see in my pride I have tried to mold God into my own image and have forgotten that I have already been breathed into existence in the image of love. How can I ever feel worthless with that amazing gift so lavishly poured into my soul? 

There is no accident that this gospel falls on the feast of the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It is his heart’s desire to pursue us, to find us, and to save us from being lost. Let’s stop and be found today so that we can rest in the embrace of infinite love and let mercy wipe away our shame so that we can relentlessly pursue God because He is by far the easiest to find if we just stop and look. It is well with my soul.

Solemnity of Most Sacred Heart of Jesus 
Lectionary: 172

Reading 1 EZ 34:11-16

Thus says the Lord GOD:
I myself will look after and tend my sheep.
As a shepherd tends his flock
when he finds himself among his scattered sheep,
so will I tend my sheep.
I will rescue them from every place where they were scattered
when it was cloudy and dark.
I will lead them out from among the peoples
and gather them from the foreign lands;
I will bring them back to their own country
and pasture them upon the mountains of Israel
in the land's ravines and all its inhabited places.
In good pastures will I pasture them,
and on the mountain heights of Israel
shall be their grazing ground.
There they shall lie down on good grazing ground,
and in rich pastures shall they be pastured
on the mountains of Israel.
I myself will pasture my sheep;
I myself will give them rest, says the Lord GOD.
The lost I will seek out,
the strayed I will bring back,
the injured I will bind up,
the sick I will heal,
but the sleek and the strong I will destroy,
shepherding them rightly.

Responsorial Psalm PS 23:1-3A, 3B-4, 5, 6.

R.(1) The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
 In verdant pastures he gives me repose;
beside restful waters he leads me;
 he refreshes my soul.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
He guides me in right paths
 for his name's sake.
Even though I walk in the dark valley
 I fear no evil; for you are at my side
with your rod and your staff
 that give me courage.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
You spread the table before me
 in the sight of my foes;
you anoint my head with oil;
 my cup overflows. 
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
Only goodness and kindness follow me
 all the days of my life;
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
 for years to come.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

Reading 2 ROM 5:5B-11

Brothers and sisters:
The love of God has been poured out into our hearts
through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.
For Christ, while we were still helpless,
died at the appointed time for the ungodly.
Indeed, only with difficulty does one die for a just person,
though perhaps for a good person
one might even find courage to die.
But God proves his love for us
in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.
How much more then, since we are now justified by his blood,
will we be saved through him from the wrath.
Indeed, if, while we were enemies,
we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son,
how much more, once reconciled,
will we be saved by his life.
Not only that,
but we also boast of God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Alleluia MT 11:29AB

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Take my yoke upon you, says the Lord,
and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Or JN 10:14

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the good shepherd, says the Lord,
I know my sheep, and mine know me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel LK 15:3-7

Jesus addressed this parable to the Pharisees and scribes:
"What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them
would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert
and go after the lost one until he finds it?
And when he does find it,
he sets it on his shoulders with great joy
and, upon his arrival home,
he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them,     
'Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.'
I tell you, in just the same way
there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents
than over ninety-nine righteous people
who have no need of repentance."

Storage Issues

Raise your hand if you still have a box of memories in your parent’s garage somewhere and/or if you are storing boxes of memories for your own children in your garage. Today’s gospel contains one of my favorite verses, “For where your treasure is, there also will be your heart.” I used to think that my heart was found in the treasure itself, so if I treasured a particular song or a beautiful memory or a deep friendship or my vocation or even my faith, that is where my heart would reside, in whatever the treasure was. Today it struck me that it says “where” your treasure is, not “what” your treasure is. This made me think more deeply as to how and where I store my treasure. I know for a fact that God is constantly placing treasures in my life in every season and with every new day and collecting them doesn’t seem to be a problem, but like in the natural world, storage is always an issue. Where am I storing these treasures and where is my heart? I think for me that I need to start paying more attention to this and I need to be more intentional with depositing my treasure where it will be most protected from thievery, destruction, and decay. It seems to me that is the heart of God. Depositing my gifts into the heart of God sounds so beautiful and poetic and ethereal, but practically speaking, how do I do it?  I think I just start by asking each day, “Dad, can you hold my treasure?” If I intentionally ask Him to store my loves, then essentially I am asking Him to store my own heart, and when my heart is stored inside the heart of God, then no thief can touch it, no lie can swoon it, and no one can possess it, except the one that keeps it. I feel like this is easier said than done, but for me, I’m going to ponder it today and perhaps this surge of the heart will place my treasures where they belong, “Dad, can you hold my heart?”

The gospel ends with the beautiful image of, “The lamp of the body is the eye. If your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light.” I love that he combines vision with sound. It makes me think that when our eyes and ears are bent toward the language and presence of the Spirit, then our being will be flooded with all things lovely and true, noble and pure, and when we see and hear light, we transmit and breathe light into each of our worlds. Want to know how to make your treasure sparkle? Shed some light on it, and let it radiate in the heart of God. It is well with my soul.   

Memorial of Saint Aloysius Gonzaga, Religious
Lectionary: 369

Reading 1 2 COR 11:18, 21-30

Brothers and sisters:
Since many boast according to the flesh, I too will boast.
To my shame I say that we were too weak!

But what anyone dares to boast of 
(I am speaking in foolishness)
I also dare.
Are they Hebrews?  So am I.
Are they children of Israel?  So am I.
Are they descendants of Abraham?  So am I.
Are they ministers of Christ? 
(I am talking like an insane person).
I am still more, with far greater labors,
far more imprisonments, far worse beatings,
and numerous brushes with death.
Five times at the hands of the Jews
I received forty lashes minus one.
Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned,
three times I was shipwrecked,
I passed a night and a day on the deep;
on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers,
dangers from robbers, dangers from my own race,
dangers from Gentiles, dangers in the city,
dangers in the wilderness, dangers at sea,
dangers among false brothers;
in toil and hardship, through many sleepless nights,
through hunger and thirst, through frequent fastings,
through cold and exposure.
And apart from these things, there is the daily pressure upon me
of my anxiety for all the churches.
Who is weak, and I am not weak?
Who is led to sin, and I am not indignant?

If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.

Responsorial Psalm PS 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7

R. (see 18b) From all their distress God rescues the just.
I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the LORD;
the lowly will hear me and be glad.
R. From all their distress God rescues the just.
Glorify the LORD with me,
let us together extol his name.
I sought the LORD, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears. 
R. From all their distress God rescues the just.
Look to him that you may be radiant with joy,
and your faces may not blush with shame.
When the poor one called out, the LORD heard,
and from all his distress he saved him.
R. From all their distress God rescues the just.

Alleluia MT 5:3

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are the poor in spirit;
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel MT 6:19-23

Jesus said to his disciples:
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth,
where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal.
But store up treasures in heaven,
where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal.
For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.

"The lamp of the body is the eye.
If your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light;
but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be in darkness.
And if the light in you is darkness, how great will the darkness be."

This Is US

As I was reflecting on the gospel today what deeply touched me is that Jesus is such an amazing teacher. He was so intentional with everything he said and taught and showed and imparted to his disciples and to us. His teachings are very simple and yet I am always trying to complicate them with my own thinking. Jesus reminds us today that God already knows what we need before we even ask, and the point of prayer is for the transformation of our own hearts, minds, and wills, not to “babble on like the pagans”. He gives us the “Our Father” as a template, if you will, for our prayer time. 

This is how you are to pray…”Our Father…” right away and yet again, Jesus wants to establish that we are to be in communion with one another, hence the use of the word “Our” in regards to the Father. He invites us to be family with Him and with one another as the first order of business in our prayer life. One little word can hold the entire universe! “This is us” has become quite the trendy buzz phrase these days because of the ever popular TV drama This Is Us that deals with complicated modern-day family life issues. It is poignant and emotional and raw and it uses flashbacks and flash forwards to shed light on the present in a complex family system. Every kind of relevant issue is dealt with and at the heart of each is their ultimate relationship with their parents. Each one is in a unique relationship with each parent and yet they claim their “us-ness” as one family. Sounds like the body of Christ doesn’t it? We are one complicated family system and our collective experience of our individual relationships with our Maker is what contributes to our “us.” Is that just way too confusing? I know my brain kind of hurts, but just read it again and sit with it for a minute. Here are the words to the “Our Father” and I’m just going to capitalize all the “us’s” and plural pronouns so we can let this sink in a bit. 

“OUR Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give US this day OUR daily bread; and forgive US OUR trespasses, as WE forgive those who trespass against US; and lead US not into temptation, but deliver US from evil.” 

This is US. Jesus wants me to be an US. At the assisted living facility where I work we have multi-denominational worship services and the “Our Father” is our glue. WE pray it together and WE enter into the US-ness of the Trinity each time we join our hearts in this prayer. Communion is always what Jesus seeks and yet it is imperative that I have my personal relationship with him in thriving order or my contribution to the “US” will be less than. We strengthen each other in our “US” by our confidence in our one on one time with the Lord. It’s a both/and situation. This is US is fueled by my eyelash-to-eyelash time with Our Father. How’s that for poignant and emotional and raw? This is US and WE are the complex and wonderful family of God. Let US pray this prayer with one another today in a special way. It is well with my soul.  

I’ve shared this every time this gospel comes up and thought it would be good to pass on today as well. My thoughts for each of the seven petitions from the “Our Father”:

1.    Hallowed be your name | First, we acknowledge God as holy, honorable, beautiful, good. Praise, praise, praise. 

2.   Your Kingdom come | We ask God to be the sovereign of our hearts, minds, and wills so that the kingdom of love will reign. 

3.   Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven | We want God’s will to direct our lives. 

4.   Give US this day our daily bread | The Greek word for daily is translated “super substantial” and this petition asks God to give us all that we need to be fortified super substantially in body and spirit. 

5.   Forgive US our trespasses as WE forgive those who trespass against US | We are asking God to only forgive us as much as we forgive others! Sit with that a minute.

6.   Lead US not into temptation | Jesus knows that sin and temptation are very much a part of our daily lives and so he wants us to acknowledge that in our prayer so that we will allow grace to win over those tests. 

7.   Deliver US from evil | Deliverance from evil is probably one of God’s favorite things to do, but we have to ask Him for it. This deliverance is from all our sins, past, present, and future. 

Reading 1 2 COR 11:1-11

Brothers and sisters:
If only you would put up with a little foolishness from me!
Please put up with me.
For I am jealous of you with the jealousy of God,
since I betrothed you to one husband
to present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.
But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning,
your thoughts may be corrupted
from a sincere and pure commitment to Christ.
For if someone comes and preaches another Jesus than the one we preached,
or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received
or a different gospel from the one you accepted,
you put up with it well enough.
For I think that I am not in any way inferior to these "superapostles."
Even if I am untrained in speaking, I am not so in knowledge;
in every way we have made this plain to you in all things.

Did I make a mistake when I humbled myself so that you might be exalted,
because I preached the Gospel of God to you without charge?
I plundered other churches by accepting from them
in order to minister to you.
And when I was with you and in need, I did not burden anyone,
for the brothers who came from Macedonia
supplied my needs.
So I refrained and will refrain from burdening you in any way.
By the truth of Christ in me,
this boast of mine shall not be silenced
in the regions of Achaia.
And why?  Because I do not love you?
God knows I do!

Responsorial Psalm PS 111:1B-2, 3-4, 7-8

R.(7a) Your works, O Lord, are justice and truth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart
in the company and assembly of the just.
Great are the works of the LORD,
exquisite in all their delights.
R. Your works, O Lord, are justice and truth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Majesty and glory are his work,
and his justice endures forever.
He has won renown for his wondrous deeds;
gracious and merciful is the LORD.
R. Your works, O Lord, are justice and truth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The works of his hands are faithful and just;
sure are all his precepts,
Reliable forever and ever,
wrought in truth and equity.
R. Your works, O Lord, are justice and truth.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Alleluia ROM 8:15BC

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
You have received a spirit of adoption as sons
through which we cry: Abba! Father!
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel MT 6:7-15

Jesus said to his disciples:
"In praying, do not babble like the pagans,
who think that they will be heard because of their many words.
Do not be like them.
Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

"This is how you are to pray:

'Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy Kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.'

"If you forgive others their transgressions,
your heavenly Father will forgive you.
But if you do not forgive others,
neither will your Father forgive your transgressions."

Secret Places

One of the most beautiful spiritual gifts of working in memory care is that I truly get to practice today’s gospel in real life. “Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them.” My sweethearts live in the present moment and because of that so do I. At first this used to mess with my heart and my head and I wondered if anything I did was even relevant or useful or significant to them in any way. I mean if they can’t remember it then what’s the point? I placed more value on remembrance than on the act of love itself. Within one week of my entering the beautiful world of dementia care, the scales fell from my eyes and Jesus could finally start teaching me the importance of, “And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.” My vocation is to pour love, care, recreation, and engagement into the one in front of me and that has nothing to do with me being seen doing it. We live moment-by-moment and being remembered for my efforts is not even an option and thank God because it makes serving them all the lovelier. The hiddenness of my service takes the pressure to perform off and my desire to love Jesus in them increases exponentially. 

There’s a song I love that captures the beauty of being “seen in secret”, “Your love is extravagant, your friendship so intimate. I find I’m moving to the rhythm of your grace, your fragrance is intoxicating in our secret place. Your love is extravagant.” There is something about a secret place with God that intoxicates our being in such a way that we pour it out extravagantly because we know His extravagant love for us. 

Today’s gospel focuses on some important spiritual habits that can be the fuel we need to practice what we preach, and on the flip side, when practiced under the umbrella of pride, these habits, can actually stunt our spiritual maturity/growth. Prayer, fasting, and alms giving are amazing acts of faith, hope, and charity, however, when we put on a show with any or all of them so that others will be impressed or jealous or made to feel less than, then these good things turn into a form of idolatry. God wants us to do these things because we love Him first and wholeheartedly and in that love we desire to show gratitude, faith, sacrifice, and charity without expecting anything in return. This is the hard part because we all just want to be loved back don’t we? We want to show the world that we are faithful people. 

God wants a private showing if you will. He wants our undivided attention, our undivided heart, and our undivided praise. This can only be done one on one, in secret. “Lovers find secret places inside this violent world where they make transactions with beauty.” (Rumi) These whispered secrets between us and the Beloved are the transactions with beauty that give us the grace to grow deeper so that we can stand firmly planted in the storms of life. These heart to hearts with our Creator are the wind in our sails and the breath in our lungs. These intimate and personal exchanges with the Lover of our soul are the stardust in our DNA and the handprints on our hearts. These sweet nothings shared in private with our Good Good Father are the drops of Jesus in our empty chalice. When we meet God eyelash to eyelash in the privacy of our soul, we let Him see us, as we are, His favored work of art. When we truly believe in that favor, we will shine naturally, and others will see and know that we belong to Him. 

I wish you many secret transactions with beauty this week. It is well with my soul. 

Reading 1 2 COR 9:6-11

Brothers and sisters, consider this:
whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly,
and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
Each must do as already determined, without sadness or compulsion,
for God loves a cheerful giver.
Moreover, God is able to make every grace abundant for you,
so that in all things, always having all you need,
you may have an abundance for every good work.
As it is written:

He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor;
his righteousness endures forever.

The one who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food
will supply and multiply your seed
and increase the harvest of your righteousness.

You are being enriched in every way for all generosity,
which through us produces thanksgiving to God.

Responsorial Psalm PS 112:1BC-2, 3-4, 9

R.(1b) Blessed the man who fears the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Blessed the man who fears the LORD,
who greatly delights in his commands.
His posterity shall be mighty upon the earth;
the upright generation shall be blessed.
R. Blessed the man who fears the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Wealth and riches shall be in his house;
his generosity shall endure forever.
Light shines through the darkness for the upright;
he is gracious and merciful and just.
R. Blessed the man who fears the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Lavishly he gives to the poor;
his generosity shall endure forever;
his horn shall be exalted in glory.
R. Blessed the man who fears the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Alleluia JN 14:23

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Whoever loves me will keep my word,
and my Father will love him
and we will come to him.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel MT 6:1-6, 16-18

Jesus said to his disciples:
"Take care not to perform righteous deeds
in order that people may see them;
otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father.
When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you,
as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets
to win the praise of others.
Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.
But when you give alms,
do not let your left hand know what your right is doing,
so that your almsgiving may be secret.
And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

"When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites,
who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners
so that others may see them.
Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.
But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door,
and pray to your Father in secret.
And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

"When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites.
They neglect their appearance,
so that they may appear to others to be fasting.
Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.
But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,
so that you may not appear to others to be fasting,
except to your Father who is hidden.
And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you."

Sermon On The Insurmountable

As Jesus continues to teach us how to go above and beyond in his Sermon on the Mount, he saved the hardest instruction for last, “Love Your Enemies”. I don’t know about you, but when I see the word “enemy” I immediately think of things like ISIS or Al-Qaeda or Nazis or guacamole haters or some big huge enemy of the country or the world at large and the concept of having an enemy seems far away and not very relevant to me personally. With that being said, this lesson becomes kind of impossible to practice because I will probably never really find myself nose to nose with the enemy to be able to show them love.  So then I started to make a mental list of those people in my life that might qualify as an actual personal enemy to me, and that’s when it started to get real. 

While my list is not very long, the thought of actually loving some of the people on it felt insurmountable (LOL, Sermon on the Mountable!!). Jesus knows this about us and that is why he has already given us some important building blocks to get us to this point where we can actually fathom living this last one. The Sermon on the Mount can be renamed “Grow Up Already” as it is a seminar in how to attain spiritual maturity, “So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.” 

Working with the elderly has given me a new desire for spiritual maturity. Every day I sit at the feet of some deeply rooted, highly enlightened, and wise human beings that show me the value of the virtues of knowledge, wisdom, and understanding. They don’t have time to harbor hate against their enemies and they have the gift of having, for lack of a better phrase, the whole picture. Their “maturity” helps me to see things differently and they make me want to pursue the gift of wisdom fervently. One of the signs of a truly enlightened person is their ability to love their enemies. The best example (other than Jesus) that immediately comes to mind is when St. John Paul II personally went to the prison to forgive his assassin face to face. I wonder if JPII reviewed the Sermon on the Mount before he went. I wonder how many hours he spent in prayer to get him to that point. I wonder if he wrestled with God over it. I wonder how this act of mercy transformed his enemy’s heart. 

This growing up stuff is not easy, but when we practice it, we can become saints whose spiritual maturity allows us to love our enemies, settle our matters quickly, be faithful to our covenants, let our yeses mean yes and our no’s mean no, deescalate drama and scandal, and transform the hearts of others. 

Back to my list of “enemies”; Jesus isn’t asking me to call them all up and spend the day at Disneyland together, but I can love them in lots of other ways. Prayer is the deepest way and in the past few years my prayer for my “enemies” has taken on a new nature. My prayer used to sound something like this: “Lord, I pray that he or she stops being an idiot”, or “Lord, help them to see that I am right”, or “Lord, keep them far away from me”. But recently, my prayer has become just a little more mature: “Lord, I pray that this new job will give him the peace that he’s been looking for”, or “Lord, grant them true joy, true love, true happiness”, or “Thank you for the things I have learned from this relationship.” At first these were just words that I spoke with little conviction behind them, and now they have transformed into actual desires with strong conviction in my heart. This kind of love for my “enemy” has changed something with in me and helped me to grow in ways I never thought possible, and they weren’t possible without grace. Olaf, the snowman, from the movie Frozen describes true love as, “True love is putting someone else’s needs before yours.” 

Jesus wants us to wrap our hearts around this and practice it. My favorite part in today’s gospel is a real Jesus zinger, “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?” Yikes. I know we can do better than that. We are growing up, friends, and isn’t it fun to be in this together. It is well with my soul.  

Reading 1 2 COR 8:1-9

We want you to know, brothers and sisters, of the grace of God
that has been given to the churches of Macedonia,
for in a severe test of affliction,
the abundance of their joy and their profound poverty
overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.
For according to their means, I can testify,
and beyond their means, spontaneously,
they begged us insistently for the favor of taking part
in the service to the holy ones,
and this, not as we expected,
but they gave themselves first to the Lord
and to us through the will of God,
so that we urged Titus that, as he had already begun,
he should also complete for you this gracious act also.
Now as you excel in every respect,
in faith, discourse, knowledge, all earnestness,
and in the love we have for you,
may you excel in this gracious act also.

I say this not by way of command,
but to test the genuineness of your love
by your concern for others.
For you know the gracious act of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that for your sake he became poor although he was rich,
so that by his poverty you might become rich.

Responsorial Psalm PS 146:2, 5-6AB, 6C- 7, 8-9A

R.(1b) Praise the Lord, my soul!
or:
R. Alleluia.
Praise the LORD, my soul!
I will praise the LORD all my life;
I will sing praise to my God while I live.
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!
or:
R. Alleluia.
Blessed he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the LORD, his God,
Who made heaven and earth,
the sea and all that is in them.
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!
or:
R. Alleluia.
Who keeps faith forever,
secures justice for the oppressed,
gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets captives free.
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!
or:
R. Alleluia.
The LORD gives sight to the blind.
The LORD raises up those who were bowed down;
the LORD loves the just.
The LORD protects strangers.
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!
or:
R. Alleluia.

Alleluia JN 13:34

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I give you a new commandment:
love one another as I have loved you.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel MT 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."