GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY : Tuesday - June 14, 2022

  Tuesday - June 14, 2022

 "Love, and do what you will. If you are silent, be silent for love; or if you cry out, cry out for love. If you chastise, chastise for love; if you spare, spare for love."

--St. Augustine

 June 14, 2022

TUESDAY OF THE ELEVENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

Lectionary: 366

 

Reading I     

                                                                                    1 Kgs 21:17-29

 

After the death of Naboth the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite:

“Start down to meet Ahab, king of Israel,

who rules in Samaria.

He will be in the vineyard of Naboth,

of which he has come to take possession.

This is what you shall tell him,

‘The LORD says: After murdering, do you also take possession?

For this, the LORD says:

In the place where the dogs licked up the blood of Naboth,

the dogs shall lick up your blood, too.’”

Ahab said to Elijah, “Have you found me out, my enemy?”

“Yes,” he answered.

“Because you have given yourself up to doing evil in the LORD’s sight,

I am bringing evil upon you: I will destroy you

and will cut off every male in Ahab’s line,

whether slave or freeman, in Israel.

I will make your house like that of Jeroboam, son of Nebat,

and like that of Baasha, son of Ahijah,

because of how you have provoked me by leading Israel into sin.”

(Against Jezebel, too, the LORD declared,

“The dogs shall devour Jezebel in the district of Jezreel.”)

“When one of Ahab’s line dies in the city,

dogs will devour him;

when one of them dies in the field,

the birds of the sky will devour him.”

Indeed, no one gave himself up to the doing of evil

in the sight of the LORD as did Ahab,

urged on by his wife Jezebel.

He became completely abominable by following idols,

just as the Amorites had done,

whom the LORD drove out before the children of Israel.

 

When Ahab heard these words, he tore his garments

and put on sackcloth over his bare flesh.

He fasted, slept in the sackcloth, and went about subdued.

Then the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite,

“Have you seen that Ahab has humbled himself before me?

Since he has humbled himself before me,

I will not bring the evil in his time.

I will bring the evil upon his house during the reign of his son.”

 

Responsorial Psalm                                  51:3-4, 5-6ab, 11 and 16

 

R. (see 3a) Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

 

Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;

in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.

Thoroughly wash me from my guilt

and of my sin cleanse me.

R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

For I acknowledge my offense,

and my sin is before me always:

“Against you only have I sinned,

and done what is evil in your sight.”

R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

Turn away your face from my sins,

and blot out all my guilt.

Free me from blood guilt, O God, my saving God;

then my tongue shall revel in your justice.

R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

 

Alleluia                                              Phil 2:8 Jn 13:34     

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

I give you a new commandment;

love one another as I have loved you.

R. 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.”

 

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 LOVING OUR ENEMIES PERFECTS US 

Today's Gospel reading is the key to understanding God's mercy. If we do what Jesus is telling us here, then we will begin to understand more deeply that God loves us no matter what, even when we behave like enemies instead of his friends.

 

He says: "Love your enemies." Who is your enemy? An enemy is anyone whose will, desires, or agenda is conflicting with yours.

 

It's easy to love those who are not in conflict with us, but when we have to deal with someone who's causing a problem, the genuineness of our love is tested: Are we really concerned about them -- or only about ourselves?

 

The more costly the conflict, the harder it is to love our opponents. But love is a choice more than a feeling. We choose to love, not because our enemies deserve our love, but because Jesus loves them so much that he died for them. If we don't respond to our enemies with love (compassion and forgiveness), we are choosing to turn away from Jesus, because God is love.

 

Loving unconditionally means to "be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect." Perfection in the Bible does not mean committing no sins and making no mistakes. Spiritual perfection means to love whole-heartedly, under all conditions.

 

"Under all conditions" does not mean putting up with evil. Healthy boundaries are also a part of unconditional love. People who cross the line by sinning against us need to experience consequences that will give them an opportunity to learn and grow. They might think that we're unloving, but we know our motives, we know how much we love them, and God surely knows.

 

We don't have to like everyone, but to be united to Jesus we do have to love everyone. We should not unite ourselves to abusers by remaining with them, nor should we ignore a situation that needs to be corrected, but we are called to do good to all, just as our Father gives rain to the just and the unjust.

 

If we trust God to make good come from the bad that happens as we deal with our enemies, we are living in his love. If we do good instead of retaliating or perpetuating the bad, we are remaining in his love. If we deal with others the way Jesus taught by example, we are united to his love.

 

Our enemies help us discover the limits of our love. When we react to their sins in unChrist-like ways, we learn of our own need to seek forgiveness. We realize that we have to rely on the Holy Spirit for supernatural love. We're perfected. Praise God for our enemies!

 

Today's Prayer

 

Holy Spirit, Empower me to be merciful to those who are difficult to love. May I be able to make sacrifices for them, praying to our Father for their needs and worries, and serving them with concrete works of love. Amen.

 

 

 

God Bless You.....

 

The Rosary Family

The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”