• Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

The Passionists of Holy Cross Province

The Love that Compels

  • Online Masses
    • Passionist Online Masses and Services
  • 300th Jubilee
    • Opening Mass of the Passionist Jubilee Year
    • Video: 300th Jubilee – English
    • Video: Jubileo Pasionista – Español
    • Jubilee Icon Itinerary
    • Jubilee Resources
    • Jubilee Song
  • Pray
    • Daily Reflections
    • Prayer Request
    • Sunday Homily
    • Passionist Spirituality and Prayer
    • Stations of the Cross
    • Prayer and Seasonal Cards
  • Grow
    • Journey into the Mystery of Christ Crucified
    • Celebrating the Feast of St. Paul of the Cross
    • Subscribe to E-News
    • Passionist Magazine
      • Passionist Magazine, Spring 2020
    • Passionist Ministries
      • Preaching
      • Hispanic Ministry
      • Haiti
      • Parish Life
      • Earth and Spirit Center
      • Education
      • Fr. Cedric Pisegna, CP, Live with Passion!
    • Retreat Centers
    • Passionist Solidarity Network
    • Sacred Heart Monastery
      • History of Sacred Heart Monastery
      • A Day in the Life of Senior Passionists
      • “Pillars” of the Community
  • Join
    • Nicholas Divine, CP, Ordination to the Diaconate
    • Are You Being Called?
    • Discerning Your Call
    • Pray With Us
    • Passionist Vocation Directors
    • Lay Partnerships
  • Connect
    • Find a Passionist
    • Passionist Websites
    • Fr. Cedric Pisegna, CP, Live with Passion!
    • Passionist Alumni Association
      • Reunions
      • 2019 Passionist Alumni Reunion
      • Welcome
      • Letter from the Provincial
        • These Men We Call Our Brothers
      • Mission Statement
      • CrossRoads Bulletin
      • Alumni Enrollment Form
        • Alumni Survey
      • Reunion Photo Gallery
  • Support
    • Donate
    • Monthly Giving
    • Leave a Legacy
      • Giving Matters
      • Ways to Give
      • Donor Relations
      • Testimonials
    • Prayer and Seasonal Cards
    • Privacy Policy Statement
  • Learn
    • Our Founder
    • History
    • The Letters of St. Paul of the Cross
    • The Diary of St. Paul of the Cross
    • Mission and Charism
    • Saints and Blesseds
    • FAQs
    • Find a Passionist
    • STUDIES IN PASSIONIST HISTORY AND SPIRITUALITY
  • Safe Environments

Daily Scripture, June 18, 2019

Scripture:

2 Corinthians 8:1-9
Matthew 5:43-48

Reflection:

“…I say to you…Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father…”

 These past few weeks we have been reading the famous Sermon on the Mount Discourse.  We come to the end and perhaps to the most central teaching of Jesus and the most difficult.

Throughout this Discourse, Jesus turns the Law upside down!  We should not be about the letter of the law, but the Spirit of the law.  Today, he tells us that to ‘love an enemy’ is to demonstrate that we are children of our heavenly Father.  God’s love is merciful, rises on good and bad, the rain falls on the honest and dishonest alike.

How well do we know Jesus?  Do we really believe how much He and the Father love us?  Do we allow ourselves to truly feel and accept that love?  To allow that very love dictate who we really are?

In her Way of Perfection, Teresa of Avila writes: “…Let us imagine that within us is an extremely rich place, built entirely of gold and precious stones…within us lies something incomparably more precious than what we see outside ourselves.  Let’s not imagine that we are hollow inside.”  The ‘gold and precious stones’ are the love of our Trinitarian God – the love that has the power to transform us and it is what enables us to ‘love our enemy’.

Love is what brings us to perfection – perfect as your father in heaven is perfect.  Love is what calls us to be whole – to grow into the person that God is calling us to be – one with Him, one as Brothers and Sisters of Christ, one with the very Spirit of God within us – can we trust this to show us how to love – even our enemies?  Do we dare to open ourselves to feel God’s love and trust that love to transform us?


Faith Offman is the Associate Director of Ministry at St. Paul of the Cross Passionist Retreat and Conference Center in Detroit, Michigan.

Footer

Facebook Feed

Support the Passionists

Contact the Passionists

The Passionists of Holy Cross Province
660 Busse Highway | Park Ridge, IL 60068
Tel: 847.518.8844 | Toll-free: 800.295.9048 | Fax: 847.518.0461
Safe Environments | Board Member Portal | Copyright © 2021 | Log in