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| Caravaggio's "The Crowning With Thorns" |
Our Lord commands us today at Mass (Mt 5:43-48) to do two
things which are impossible or nearly impossible for us to do naturally
speaking: to love our enemies and persecutors, and to be perfect as the Father
is perfect.
To follow Christ means that we must grow
to love as Christ loves, and to forgive as He forgives, forgiving those who
cause us hurt or wrong in any way. As we
gaze at the crucifix and think of our Lord’s death on the cross for our
salvation, let us remember that Christ died for every individual while they
were still sinners (Rom 5:10). So it is that Christians must forgive one
another as a condition of being reconciled with God. If we forgive others and
especially those who hurt us and wrong us grievously, then this action of
forgiveness configures us more closely to Christ Himself. Christ wants us to
share in His witness that love is greater than sin.
True freedom, such as we hear in the
Gospel, cannot be found when we are still enslaved to resentment and hatred for
others.
Secondly, Christ invites everyone to the
perfection of charity. We would be right to suggest that this is impossible for
us – naturally speaking. But as Christians we follow our Saviour not in our own
strength but in His grace. And His grace is the divine life being poured into
our hearts through the Church not least by the Sacraments. And as we grow in
grace and strive to live a life of grace then we grow in supernatural strength
to be as Christ is. We are not perfecting ourselves, it is Christ doing this in
us. Our part is cooperation, opening the door and not closing the door –
avoiding the occasions of sin, repenting when we do sin, filling our minds with
godly things and keeping ourselves in a state of grace to receive the
sacraments.
Yes our Lord’s commands us to be perfect
which is not possible in our own strength, but He does offer us His life, His
grace, in order to be able to fulfill all His commands.
Fr Ian
