Both of the readings for mass today encourage us to do more than just the minimum to get by, at least in our spiritual lives. In the first reading for mass from the book of Deuteronomy, Moses tells us to be careful to observe God’s commands, statutes and decrees “with all of your heart and with all of your soul”. He didn’t just tell us to observe them, but to put our whole heart and soul into living them.
Some of your friends and family might not understand this if you seek to know, love and serve the Lord more deeply in your life, but that’s ok because we are all at different stages of development. One day they may also come to enjoy using a little more of their free time to go to a daily mass, or adoration or do some volunteer work instead of the other fun things they currently do. Silent retreats aren’t for everyone either but many people need silence, solitude and prayer to be able to hear God’s voice speaking in the silence of their hearts The first reading for mass says for us to “hearken to His voice” but God speaks to each of us in different ways.
Tolerance and respect for one another is a timeless virtue. Jesus spoke of this in today’s gospel. This gospel is so familiar to us, it is tempting to skim over it as if we already know it all by heart. But, that’s the thing about the scriptures, they are ever new. Jesus tells us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. How many times have we heard this? That doesn’t make it any easier to put it into practice though.
Do you know why Jesus said to pray for those who persecute us? One of the reasons might be because praying for another person that hurt you, actually helps you to get over the hurt that was inflicted. It also forces you to quit thinking of yourself and the hurt you experienced when you pray for another person. Praying for another person draws you out of your own self involved thinking, in order to focus on someone else and to genuinely seek their good. That is actually the definition of love by the way. Genuine love seeks the good of another person.
Jesus taught us time and time again in the scriptures, to go against our natural inclinations and do the right thing. This is the battle of the heart that we are all engaged in, to overcome ourselves. We can be our own worst enemy sometimes.
The last part of the gospel is so needed for people to understand. If you have ever been ignored in a crowd of people where everyone seems to know everyone else, then you understand why Christ said, “If you greet your brothers and sisters only, what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same?” There is no worse feeling, than feeling as if you don’t belong. This is especially true in our parishes.
People crave a place to they feel like they belong. Our churches run the risk of forming “clicks” of people who only talk to one another and do not welcome new people into their groups. Even in church we can develop own self involved circles of friendships and acquaintances and others can feel like they are “on the outside looking in”. Parishes can feel cold and unwelcoming if we only associate with those we know. The ministries in a church do not thrive, unless the ones who are already involved in a particular ministry makes an effort to reach out and make connections with other people in the parish in a genuine way. The parish ministries are actually miniature communities, a church within a church.
We are the living bricks that the Catholic church is built with. As an individual brick, we personally touch other “bricks” that we know and associate with in the church, who then touch other bricks they know, and the pattern continues until we are all connected to one another and form the entire church. They say we are only six people away from knowing the pope himself. We know someone, who knows someone, who knows someone, etc., who knows the pope. The Catholic church is not so cold or impersonal or so large that we do not have a place to belong. If our brick wasn’t there, the church itself would have an empty hole. And, if we do not reach out and make connections with other people we come in contact with in our parishes, then there will be a crack in the mortar that weakens the entire structure.
Jesus teaches us in today’s gospel that it is important to reach out to others whom we do not know very well. After all, strangers are just friends we haven’t met yet.
Daily Mass Readings:
Deuteronomy 26:16-19 / Psalm 119:1-2,4-5,7-8 / Matthew 5:43-48
