March 06, 2023

Lk 6: 36-38

Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

“Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.”

New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.

Loving Those Hardest to Love

As we approach St. Patrick’s Day, one of my favorite tongue-in-cheek Irish curses implores that God turn the hearts of our enemies, and if not their hearts, then at least turn their ankles, so we may know them by their limping. How practical and convenient that would be! 

Yet in today's Gospel, Jesus challenges us to see each other as God does - created in his image and likeness - welcomed with love, compassion, and forgiveness rather than judgment, condemnation, and grudges. Divided by a pandemic, separate news channels, and “alternative facts,” finding God in all things means finding God in all people, especially those we impulsively find most challenging to love.

Who is one person you can reach out to today to offer forgiveness, compassion, or mercy? “For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you.”

Good and gracious God, may you turn our hearts toward those we might judge, condemn, or fail to show mercy. Grant us the grace to see others through your loving eyes.  And if you can't turn our hearts, may you turn our ankles, so as to redirect our paths to walk with others and encounter the face of Christ as we limp together toward your kingdom. 

—Steve Holte is the founding president of Cristo Rey Orange County High School (CA) and board member of the Ignatian Spirituality Project.

Prayer 

Lord, you show me compassion and mercy each and every day. Help me to treat those I encounter with the same love and forgiveness. Amen.

—Jesuit Prayer team