Daily Gospel Reflection for March 4, 2023

Join us as we reflect, ponder, and pray together inspired by today's Gospel.

Today's Gospel: Matthew 5:43-48

A priest told me to pray for a person who’d hurt me. It was a big hurt, one that took much out of me. My feelings were 180 degrees from charitable. My face must have reflected my horror at this suggestion. Praying for this person seemed not only absurd but impossible.

He suggested I pray for the desire to pray. I wanted to back up even further and pray for the desire to pray for the desire but instead accepted penance #2.

Jesus’ request to love our enemies is not a suggestion to do only if we can. It’s easy to pray for people who elicit feelings of warmth and affection. However, love is not just devotion and closeness. Love is wanting good for the other. I cannot imagine feeling warmth, but I can imagine wanting goodness for this person.

Jesus desires our hearts to be conformed to His. He wants to transform us. This is painful and hard because our human response to our enemies is not love but self-protection, justice, and sometimes revenge. But we can be confident knowing that while Jesus asks much, His generosity is great. He doesn’t expect us to instantly have a change of heart. He knows it is a journey and He is on it with us.

It is okay if all we can muster is the desire to pray for one who has hurt us, and I believe it is also okay to pray for the desire to pray for the desire to pray. If we offer our hearts to Jesus, He will teach us to have a heart like His and ultimately we will be able to love our enemies and those who persecute us and experience greater freedom as a result.

Ponder:

Who do you need to love better?

Pray:

Jesus, help me to truly love those who hurt me. Teach me how to love as You do.

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Jesus’ request to love our enemies is not a suggestion to do only if we can. #DailyGospel

Copyright 2023 Meredith Frediani