Friday, March 14, 2014

Saturday of the 1st Week of Lent (A)


Matthew 5:43-48. Why is it important to love enemies? Someone said this: “We are to love our enemies – not because our enemies are fit to be loved but because we are not fit to hate.” Indeed, this is true. We are not made to hate. We are supposed to reflect in ourselves the love of God, from whose image and likeness we were created. For this reason, Jesus admonishes: “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Moreover, we are to love our enemies because this is beneficial to us. Oftentimes, we believe that by hating or by refusing to forgive enemies we gain. But this is untrue. When we choose to continue hating another, we hurt our spirits and we cause serious damage to our hearts. But, if we show kindness to enemies, we do well to ourselves, also.