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Today, 27th of September, we celebrate
Saint Vincent of Paul
1 Cor 8:1b–7,11–13
Brothers and sisters:
Knowledge inflates with pride, but love builds up.
If anyone supposes he knows something,
he does not yet know as he ought to know.
But if one loves God, one is known by him.
So about the eating of meat sacrificed to idols:
we know that there is no idol in the world,
and that there is no God but one.
Indeed, even though there are so-called gods in heaven and on earth
(there are, to be sure, many "gods" and many "lords"),
yet for us there is
one God, the Father,
from whom all things are and for whom we exist,
and one Lord, Jesus Christ,
through whom all things are and through whom we exist.
But not all have this knowledge.
There are some who have been so used to idolatry up until now
that, when they eat meat sacrificed to idols,
their conscience, which is weak, is defiled.
Thus, through your knowledge, the weak person is brought to destruction,
the brother for whom Christ died.
When you sin in this way against your brothers
and wound their consciences, weak as they are,
you are sinning against Christ.
Therefore, if food causes my brother to sin,
I will never eat meat again,
so that I may not cause my brother to sin.
Ps 139:1b-3, 13-14ab, 23-24
R./ Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way.
O Lord, you have probed me and you know me;
you know when I sit and when I stand;
you understand my thoughts from afar.
My journeys and my rest you scrutinize,
with all my ways you are familiar.
R./ Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way.
Truly you have formed my inmost being;
you knit me in my mother's womb.
I give you thanks that I am fearfully, wonderfully made;
wonderful are your works.
R./ Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way.
Probe me, O God, and know my heart;
try me, and know my thoughts;
See if my way is crooked,
and lead me in the way of old.
R./ Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way.
Luke 6:27-38
Jesus said to his disciples:
"To you who hear I say, love your enemies,
do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you,
pray for those who mistreat you.
To the person who strikes you on one cheek,
offer the other one as well,
and from the person who takes your cloak,
do not withhold even your tunic.
Give to everyone who asks of you,
and from the one who takes what is yours do not demand it back.
Do to others as you would have them do to you.
For if you love those who love you,
what credit is that to you?
Even sinners love those who love them.
And if you do good to those who do good to you,
what credit is that to you?
Even sinners do the same.
If you lend money to those from whom you expect repayment,
what credit is that to you?
Even sinners lend to sinners,
and get back the same amount.
But rather, love your enemies and do good to them,
and lend expecting nothing back;
then your reward will be great
and you will be children of the Most High,
for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.
Be merciful, just as also your Father is merciful.
"Stop judging and you will not be judged.
Stop condemning and you will not be condemned.
Forgive and you will be forgiven.
Give and gifts will be given to you;
a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing,
will be poured into your lap.
For the measure with which you measure
will in return be measured out to you."
Dear friend,
As we’ve been seeing throughout the continuous reading, the Corinthians consult St. Paul about many things. Today they ask him about idols, because before their conversion many of them attended banquets in honor of pagan gods where meat sacrificed to these gods was eaten. Now they are Christians and don’t know if they can attend these banquets. St. Paul will remind them later that there is a banquet par excellence, which is the Eucharist, in which Christ himself offers himself to us with his flesh so that we may have life in Him.
However, although we too today fall into the adoration of certain idols, sometimes communing with their ideologies and mentalities, the Gospel, after yesterday’s Beatitudes, reminds us of the essentials of our faith so that we don’t forget: “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them…” That’s quite a life program to start the year with!
Among all of Jesus’ phrases that we meditate on today, there is one that touches me deeply: “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?” How right he is, but how difficult it is. That’s why I think it’s a good idea to pray with the last verse of today’s Psalm 138 so that the Lord may help us put it into practice: “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
Your brother in faith,
Juan Lozano, cmf.God our Father,
from whom all good things come
and for whom we live,
fill us with your own gratuitous love,
the one you have shown us in Jesus Christ.
Teach us to love and bless
even those who curse or maltreat us.
Indeed, deepen and widen our limited love,
make it without measure, like yours,
that we may be called sons and daughters
of you, the Most High, our Father,
through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
First Reading Introduction
In ancient times, in the Greek world, much of the meat of the sacrifices was then sold for the food of the people. By eating this meat, did Christians share in idolatry? They do not honor false gods, since these do not exist, says Paul. But as some Christians are scrupulous, it is better not to offend them, and therefore to abstain from meat coming from sacrifices to false gods and to abstain from something they could legitimately do. That is love, and love should rule the community.
Gospel Introduction
Love does not rest on sympathies alone. A gospel-love, a love of faith, has no boundaries. One who loves gives more than asked and loves the "unlovable," including enemies. It does not judge nor condemn, is always ready to be compassionate and forgiving. When we look at all these implications, we have to confess with shame that we are far from this ideal proposed us by our Lord. How far are we in this world as the sign of God's own love?
– For all Christians, that our readiness to forgive and our constant quest for tolerance and peace may point to Christ and his Gospel, we pray:
– For all, who can hardly believe in forgiveness, for those who give others no opportunities, for those who keep holding grudges, for those blinded by hatred, that God may enrich them with his mercy, we pray:
– For our Christian communities, that we may hear the call of Jesus to do away with our division and selfishness, and that he may help us to overcome evil by goodness, we pray:
God our Father,
you treat alike sinners and those who love you
with the bread and drink of joy of your Son.
All are invited, all are loved.
Help us to set the table of ourselves
to friend and foe alike,
to those we love and those we fear.
May this be our offering to you,
which you accept through your Son,
Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Compassionate Father,
through your Son, you have asked us
in this Eucharistic celebration
not to judge or condemn,
and even to grant generous pardon
to those whom we feel to have hurt us.
Let your Son, Jesus Christ give us the capacity
to give without seeking repayment,
to claim no merit or credit,
but simply to love without boundaries,
as you have loved us in Jesus Christ, our Lord.
"If you love only those who love you, what credit is that to you? Love your enemies!" It is something very difficult to do, but it is at the core of Christianity. Let us ask the Lord for strength, for a Christian love deep enough to make us capable of this. May Almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
