“The commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery; you shall not kill; you shall not steal; you shall not covet,’ and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this saying, namely, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no evil to the neighbor; hence, love is the fulfillment of the law.” (Rom 13:9 – 10)

When you truly love, you care about the other person. If something is wrong between the two of you, you should work toward reconciliation: first—alone, then—with one or two others, and finally—with the church. Only then can you stop fighting. True love never tires of taking care of my neighbor.

“God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.” (Gospel Acclamation)

“When ridiculed, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we respond gently.” (1 Cor 4: 12 – 13)

It is so easy to answer in a way much different from St Paul’s, and with a good excuse—I was ridiculed, persecuted or slandered; it is not my fault that I lost my temper. St. Paul brings us a much wider perspective: we can be ourselves; there is no need to be like a mirror—just a reflection of someone else’s behavior. “For freedom Christ set us free” (Gal 5: 1).

“I am the way and the truth and the life, says the Lord; no one comes to the Father except through me.” (Gospel Acclamation)

“Therefore, do not make any judgment before the appointed time, until the Lord comes, for he will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will manifest the motives of our hearts, and then everyone will receive praise from God.” (1 Cor 4: 5)

We try to say something nice, we have plans to call a friend, or we want to go home earlier, but nothing comes of it. Fortunately, Our Lord knows “the motives of our hearts” and “will bring to light what is hidden.” My prayers for friends, my mortifications and all hidden victories “will receive praise from God” even if no one else noticed.

“I am the light of the world, says the Lord; whoever follows me will have the light of life.” (Gospel Acclamation)

“After he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ‘Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.’ Simon said in reply, ‘Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets.’ When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish and their nets were tearing.” (Lk 5: 4-6)

Our part is—“work hard,” His—“a great number of fish.” All the fruits of our apostolic work depend on Him: “at your command.” Sometimes we think that we know better—“we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing”; but even then we can say: BUT, “but at your command”… and put our trust in Him and His word and not on our experience and knowledge.

“How great is the goodness, Lord, that you keep for those who fear you.” (Communion Antiphon)

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hbr 13:8). Our Lord always visits every town with “the good news of the Kingdom of God.” We can meet Him in every tabernacle, every Church and every human being. More or less visible, but always present. He brings the good news to me, to you and to the world.

“The Lord sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor and to proclaim liberty to captives.” (Gospel Acclamation)

“They were all amazed and said to one another, ‘What is there about his word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out.’” (Lk 4:36)

How happy we are, protected all the time by His word. He uses His authority and power against everything which is tries to attack us. For us He is full of compassion, mercy and tenderness, but for the “unclean spirits” He shows all His power and authority.

“Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I cry to you all the day long. O Lord, you are good and forgiving, full of mercy to all who call to you.” (Entrance antiphon)

“I did not come with sublimity of words or of wisdom. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified.” (1 Cor 2:2)

Nothing more, nothing less—Jesus Christ crucified—is the only answer to all our needs, questions and difficulties. Inviting Him into our lives and letting Him work through us is the true wisdom.

“Whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (Communion Antiphon)

“Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.” (Rom 12: 2)

How to recognize God’s will? We pray everyday: “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Is the will of God for us to be holy, or to do whatever comes to our mind as God’s will, or to spend more time praying; is God’s will very detailed or just general, giving general directions not single steps? Of course everything listed above could be God’s will. We know that finally, whatever we can say about His will could be reduced to “love one another as I have loved you.”

Today we receive a very short reminder, a short instruction, to be sure that we are following the will of God: “what is good and pleasing and perfect.”

First of all—good, objectively good; what we do is right and proper: a good action. Second—pleasing, causing us to feel happy and satisfied: good emotions. Third—perfect; perfect to us today sounds like absolute perfection, but the Greek word here is “teleios”; “teleios” means “mature,” or “complete.” When we have good, right action (like going to church on Sunday) and good emotions (I am so happy being here; I am smiling and fully satisfied), we are mature and complete persons “content to be able to enrich the other with the gift of himself” (HV 9).

“May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ enlighten the eyes of our hearts, that we may know what is the hope that belongs to our call.” (Gospel Acclamation)

“God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise, and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong, and God chose the lowly and despised of the world, those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who are something, so that no human being might boast before God.” (1 Cor 1:27-29)

How dangerous is boasting! How carefully God protects the human being from boasting! Our good deeds, our good words, our good interactions and our support for others based on God bring beneficial fruit to the Church. Whatever we have we received from God.

“I give you a new commandment: love one another as I have loved you.” (Gospel Acclamation)

“Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the Gospel, and not with the wisdom of human eloquence, so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its meaning.” (1 Cor 1: 17)

The Cross of Christ became for us a tree of life. His death has brought us life and reconnection with God and made us brothers and sisters of Our Lord. Our mission depends not on understanding the world and human nature but on belief in God, who created this world and human beings for a greater glory—living with God in heaven forever.

“John answered and said: He must increase, but I must decrease.” (Communion Antiphon)