Luke 6,27-38

Gospel Reading

Luke 6,27-38
Jesus said to his disciples : “To you who hear I say, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. To the person who strikes you on one cheek, offer the other one as well, and from the person who takes your cloak, do not withhold even your tunic. Give to everyone who asks of you, and from the one who takes what is yours do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.

Reflection
In this gospel, Jesus is inviting us to respond to challenges as he did – by loving, doing good, blessing, praying and giving. This we have to do in season and out of season. Though we don’t feel and we don’t see that it is logical to love and pray for our enemies, still, this divine call must be observed at all times. Jesus wants a change of heart. This is hard because this is not our way. Our natural tendency is to get even or just discipline our enemies as best as we can. This message of Jesus is a radical one. We can only follow this if we have a close encounter with God.

Lasallian Guiding Principle
This God-encounter is clearly expressed in the LGP. It states that, “…the spirit of faith is a spirit that allows one to…judge and evaluate things in the light of the gospel.” The whole gospel is about Jesus, the bearer of God’s love, the sacrament of God the Father. When we are bombarded with several work-related issues and we don’t know how to address them, go back to Jesus, go back to the gospel, encounter Him and learn from Him. This is how we nurture our relationship with God as Lasallians.

Prayer
Lord, loving our enemies is contrary to our human nature. But now You are asking us to love them. We always fail You. Lord, change our heart and transform it to become like Your merciful heart especially during sacramental celebrations. Allow us to spend time pondering how You have been merciful to us even when we are sinful and ungrateful. In this way, we learn the way of the gospel. This we ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Our Lady of the Star, pray for us.
St. John Baptist de la Salle, pray for us.
St. Miguel Febres Cordero, pray for us.
Live Jesus in our hearts, forever!
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

VALUE: Spirit of Faith (Nurturing Faith)
CULTURE THEME: We nurture our relationship with God
PRODUCTIVITY THEME: Norms of Piety
ICV WEEK 2: We actively seek out encounters with God in sacramental celebrations.
Sources:
C. (n.d.). Daily Gospel. Retrieved on 10 September 2018, from https://dailygospel.org/M/AM/
DLSU ITS, DLSU STRATCOM, DLSU IRPA. (n.d.). Guiding Principles of the Philippine Lasallian

Family. Retrieved on 10 September 2018, from http://www.dlsu.edu.ph/inside/lasallian-guiding-
principles/default.asp

(Prepared by: Lorenzo Alvin T. Capio)