I give you a new commandment:
love one another just as I have loved you,
says the Lord. JN 13:34
1 SAMUEL 26:2,7-9,11-13,22-23
My Soul's Beloved,
How different David is from the rulers of the world my Lord. He is aware of God's law and he refuses to raise his hand against the anointed of God, Saul. While he would have been justified in slaying him since he was pursuing David to kill him yet, he was keenly aware that it was God who chose Saul and anointed him to rule his people.
My Lord and my God, Pope Francis is gravely ill and You will soon call him home to Yourself. He is Your anointed. He is consecrated by You to lead Your Church which is founded on Peter and he is Peter's successor. It is heartbreaking O Lord to see how many have the temerity to speak all kinds of calumny against him. They see as those with blurred vision and express the most vile judgments against him and yet O Lord we know that Your hand is upon him. He has reflected Your mercy, Your humility, Your tenderness, Your wisdom, Your kindness and goodness, and Your love for the poorest, weakest, and most miserable among us. We know O Lord, that he is Your good and faithful servant, and as we pray for him with loving hearts filled with sorrow that he will leave us we know O Lord that he will enter into Your rest and take his place in the company of Your glorious saints.
It is a terrible thing the enemies of the Chruch do O Lord when they besmirch their lips with lies against those whom You have chosen and appointed. Have mercy on their souls and may the light of truth dispel the darkness in their hearts.
David answered Abishai, ‘Do not kill him, for who can lift his hand against the Lord’s anointed and be without guilt? The Lord forbid that I should raise my hand against the Lord’s anointed!’
PSALM 102(103):1-4,8,10,12-13
The Lord is compassion and love.
The first man, Adam, as scripture says, became a living soul; but the last Adam has become a life-giving spirit. That is, first the one with the soul, not the spirit, and after that, the one with the spirit. The first man, being from the earth, is earthly by nature; the second man is from heaven. As this earthly man was, so are we on earth; and as the heavenly man is, so are we in heaven. And we, who have been modelled on the earthly man, will be modelled on the heavenly man.
LUKE 6:27-38
My Soul's Beloved,
‘I say this to you who are listening: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who treat you badly. To the man who slaps you on one cheek, present the other cheek too; to the man who takes your cloak from you, do not refuse your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and do not ask for your property back from the man who robs you. Treat others as you would like them to treat you. If you love those who love you, what thanks can you expect? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what thanks can you expect? For even sinners do that much. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what thanks can you expect? Even sinners lend to sinners to get back the same amount. Instead, love your enemies and do good, and lend without any hope of return. You will have a great reward, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.
David answered Abishai, ‘Do not kill him, for who can lift his hand against the Lord’s anointed and be without guilt? The Lord forbid that I should raise my hand against the Lord’s anointed!’
‘The Lord repays everyone for his uprightness and loyalty. Today the Lord put you in my power, but I would not raise my hand against the Lord’s anointed.’
PSALM 102(103):1-4,8,10,12-13
The Lord is compassion and love.
My soul, give thanks to the Lord
all my being, bless his holy name.
My soul, give thanks to the Lord
and never forget all his blessings.
all my being, bless his holy name.
My soul, give thanks to the Lord
and never forget all his blessings.
It is he who forgives all your guilt,
who heals every one of your ills,
who redeems your life from the grave,
who crowns you with love and compassion.
who redeems your life from the grave,
who crowns you with love and compassion.
The Lord is compassion and love,
slow to anger and rich in mercy.
He does not treat us according to our sins
nor repay us according to our faults.
He does not treat us according to our sins
nor repay us according to our faults.
As far as the east is from the west
so far does he remove our sins.
As a father has compassion on his sons,
the Lord has pity on those who fear him.
As a father has compassion on his sons,
the Lord has pity on those who fear him.
The Lord is compassion and love.
1 CORINTHIANS 15:45-49
My Soul's Beloved,
My Soul's Beloved,
How good it is to know of our glorious destiny in eternity. Yes, we are creatures made of the dust of the earth and our bodies made from dust will return to the dust but our souls will live forever.
We are children of the first Adam and his legacy to us is original sin and we are weakened by it. Even though the waters of baptism have cleansed us concupiscence remains. We are tempted as long as we have breath in our bodies and as we wage an unending battle against the world, the flesh, and the devil. Were it not for the grace of the Sacraments O Lord, we would perish. Thank You, Lord, for the Church, thank You for Peter, thank You for his successors, and thank You for leaving with us a visible sign in him of Your invisible and abiding Presence with Your people in this Church You founded on the Rock of Peter. Above all O Lord, as the new and heavenly Adam we thank You that when this life on earth ends we will become like You in glory.
The first man, Adam, as scripture says, became a living soul; but the last Adam has become a life-giving spirit. That is, first the one with the soul, not the spirit, and after that, the one with the spirit. The first man, being from the earth, is earthly by nature; the second man is from heaven. As this earthly man was, so are we on earth; and as the heavenly man is, so are we in heaven. And we, who have been modelled on the earthly man, will be modelled on the heavenly man.
LUKE 6:27-38
My Soul's Beloved,
St. Luke gives us Your blueprint to follow as light and salt in the world in the Sermon on the Plain. If every Catholic lived by these precepts Your Kingdom would come among us and we would receive a foretaste of heaven while still on earth.
There have been saintly men, women, and even children since the foundation of the Church who have lived their entire lives following these instructions. These holy Christians are shining examples of what is possible when we take You at Your word and live in the Gospel in all its beauty and majesty, its simplicity and goodness, in its purity and perfection striving to be holy and perfect as our heavenly Father is holy and perfect.
Yet how far we are from the ideal. How few take Your instructions to heart and live the Gospel with courage in our public lives despite the cost. We have one set of principles in a church setting and quite another in our secular lives. We are cynics who convince ourselves that it is impossible to live the Beatitudes in every area of our lives. Your words are clear and uncompromising:
‘I say this to you who are listening: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who treat you badly. To the man who slaps you on one cheek, present the other cheek too; to the man who takes your cloak from you, do not refuse your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and do not ask for your property back from the man who robs you. Treat others as you would like them to treat you. If you love those who love you, what thanks can you expect? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what thanks can you expect? For even sinners do that much. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what thanks can you expect? Even sinners lend to sinners to get back the same amount. Instead, love your enemies and do good, and lend without any hope of return. You will have a great reward, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.
Our criterion must be divine there is no other benchmark against which we must measure our actions. We are invited to be Christlike in thought, word, deed, and action only then can we attract the world to the Kingdom of God.
‘Be compassionate as your Father is compassionate. Do not judge, and you will not be judged yourselves; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned yourselves; grant pardon, and you will be pardoned. Give, and there will be gifts for you: a full measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be poured into your lap; because the amount you measure out is the amount you will be given back.’
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