Thursday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time Luke 6: 27-38 Agapē: Loving Even Those Who Hurt Us
The command to love our enemies is perhaps the most radical and demanding word that Jesus speaks. It is not a suggestion; it is at the heart of the Gospel. Yet to obey it, we must first understand what kind of love he is calling us to.
The Greek word used here is agapē—not the love of passion, nor even the affection we naturally feel for family and friends. Agapē means choosing the good of the other, even when they wrong us. It is not a love of sentiment but of the will, made possible by grace. We cannot force our hearts to feel tender affection toward those who hurt us, but we can decide, in Christ, never to wish them harm and always to desire their highest good. This is divine love.
Christian love is always active. It is not enough to say, “I will not do evil to you.” The Lord calls us further: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” The wisdom of the world would tell us the moral principle—do not harm. But Jesus commands something bigger—go out of your way to bless, to forgive, to serve. This is the “extra” of Christian life, the step beyond what is expected, the choice that reveals a heart transformed.
And why do we live this way? Because this is the way of God. He sends His rain on the just and the unjust. He embraces saint and sinner alike. If we love only those who love us, what is special in that? But if we love even our enemies, we become true children of the Father.
To love in this way is costly, sometimes painful. Yet in the end, it fills our hearts with the very joy of God. It makes us free. It makes us like Him.
Wednesday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time Luke 6: 20-26 Happiness in Christ’s way, not the world’s
The Beatitudes are not gentle words meant to soothe; they are like flashes of lightning, breaking into our lives with power and urgency. Both in Matthew and Luke, Jesus begins His great sermon with these startling proclamations: “Blessed are the poor… Woe to the rich.” What a shock! How upside down this sounds compared to the world’s way of thinking.
The Gospel confronts us with a choice: Do we want happiness according to the world, or according to Christ? The world says, “Blessed are the strong, the wealthy, the comfortable.” But Jesus proclaims, “Blessed are you who hunger now, who weep now, who are persecuted for my sake.” This is not mere poetry—it is a revolution of the heart. It is a call to live differently.
Jesus is clear: if we give our whole energy to chasing wealth, status, and pleasure, we may succeed—but that is all we will ever have. “You have had it,” He warns. Nothing remains for eternity. But if we set our hearts on Him—on fidelity, on mercy, on truth—we may face struggle, we may be misunderstood, but we will have joy that no one can take away.
The saints understood this. They often lived poor in the world’s eyes, but rich in faith, free in spirit, radiant in joy. As St. Paul reminds us, “This slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2 Cor 4:17).
The Beatitudes ask us: What kind of happiness do we seek? The world’s passing comfort—or the eternal joy of Christ? To follow Jesus is to risk trouble, but it is also to find the deep peace that only He can give. Blessed indeed are those who choose His way.
Tuesday of week 23 in Ordinary Time Or Optional memorial of Saint Peter Claver, Priest Luke 6:12-19 Chosen to be with Him
When we read the Gospel, we see Jesus choosing His apostles. And the first reason is simple but profound: He wanted them to be with Him (cf. Mk 3:14). Jesus did not call them first to do things, but to live in friendship with Him. It is beautiful to think that the Son of God desired the closeness of friends, that He needed hearts to walk with Him. God, who is Father, is not content until every child has returned home.
Jesus could have left us a book or a system of ideas, but He chose instead to write His message in the lives of men and women. They became His “living books.” This reminds us that Christianity is not a theory but a life shared. To be a disciple means to be a learner—always learning from the Lord, always listening more deeply to His Word, until the day we meet Him face to face.
And then Jesus made them apostles—sent ones, ambassadors. A Christian is never only for himself; he is always sent. We are called to represent Christ, not only with our words but with our lives, our gestures, our mercy. A child once called the apostles “Jesus’ samples.” Yes! Every Christian is meant to be a living sample of Christ.
But notice this: those Jesus chose were not extraordinary men. They were fishermen, tax collectors, and even enemies in society’s eyes. Yet Jesus united them, Matthew the tax collector and Simon the Zealot, men who should have hated each other. Only Christ can make such opposites live together in peace. This is His miracle—turning division into communion.
Let us ask ourselves: Am I living as His friend? Am I letting my life become His message? Am I an ambassador of His love where I live?
全属于祢 
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