In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus lays out many of his basic life teachings. Several of them are extraordinarily difficult for us to understand, much less put into practice. Two of these are the famous "turn the other cheek" and "love your enemy" admonitions. To understand what Jesus is saying and what it means to us today, we first need to understand the context in which Jesus is speaking.
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1st Sunday of Lent—February 18, 2018
In her wisdom, the Church gives us this reading at the beginning of Lent because Jesus is giving us an example of what the season of Lent is meant to be for us. Lent is a time to remember the reality of our life on earth. In the way that Lent prepares us for Easter, our life on earth is meant to ...
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8th Sunday in Ordinary Time—March 3, ...
Imagine that you and Jesus are standing in today's Gospel reading under a fruit tree, loaded with ripening fruit. Jesus points to the fruit and says, "A good tree does not bear rotten fruit . . .every tree is known by its fruit." In prayer, ask Jesus to show you areas where you are not bearing go...
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3rd Sunday of Lent - March 15, 2020
In ancient times, access to a reliable well was essential. Without a steady supply of clean water, life would be difficult, if not impossible. In this week’s Gospel, we see Jesus sitting by a well in the country of Samaria. It’s noon, and we can assume that he is hot and tired. We know he is thir...
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