by Faith Central & Steve Welsh
“‘Bear with one another lovingly and make every effort to preserve the unity which has the Spirit as its origin and peace as its binding force.’ (cf. Eph 4:2f.) It is not possible to maintain unity or peace if the brothers don’t make every effort to remain tolerant of one another and to keep the bond of harmony, which comes from patience…
“What do people want in a #parish? A friendly and welcoming atmosphere, for starters.”
“The #Christian mission today means facing new challenges with simplicity, holiness, and openness to God, #PopeFrancis told an audience with the Marian Fathers on Saturday.”
“#PopeFrancis …. spoke of the importance of the bond of brotherhood and of how easy it is for petty jealousies and envy to damage that bond and set off a process that can lead to the destruction of families and peoples.”
“‘… 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 …. be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.””
“In today’s #Gospel the Lord is teaching us, by His grace, to break the cycle of hatred and retribution. When someone harms me I may well become angry, and in my anger seek to get back at the offender. If I do that, though, then Satan has earned a second victory and brought the anger and retribution to a higher level. Most likely, the one who originally harmed me will then take exception to my retribution and try to inflict more harm on me. And so the cycle continues and escalates. … Break the cycle. The Lord has dispatched us onto the field to turn the game around and break this cycle of retribution and hatred. The ‘play’ He wants us to execute is the ‘it ends with me’ play. …”
#Catholic #TV #Mass for the Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Feb. 19, 2017, from the Basilica of the Sacred Heart at the University of #NotreDame [Click here for Mass Readings]
“… We are called to the #Holiness of #God. That is the extraordinary claim made in both the First Reading and #Gospel this Sunday. Yet how is it possible that we can be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect? #Jesus explains that we must be imitators of God as his beloved children (Eph. 5:1–2). …”
“… As a result of the law of love, #Jesus asks his #disciples not to return evil for evil but to return evil with good. When you think about it, if we return evil for evil, we are drawn into a vicious snare that intensifies and multiplies evil. The #Christian is to be the messenger of #God and to bring goodness, wholeness, and #salvation into all areas of life. ‘Be holy as I am holy, says the Lord.’ The #Holiness of #God overcomes and transforms all that it touches. Witness the #Cross of Christ, the #forgiveness of Christ which in its very abasement was transformed by Love and so routed the forces of Satan. …”
“When the LORD saw how great was man’s wickedness on earth,
… He regretted that he had made man on the earth,
and His Heart was grieved.
So the LORD said:
‘I will wipe out from the earth the men whom I have created,
and not only the men,
but also the beasts and the creeping things and the birds of the air,
for I am sorry that I made them.”
But #Noah found favor with the LORD.
… the LORD said to Noah:
‘Go into the ark, you and all your household,
for you alone in this age have I found to be truly just. …”