DAILY GOSPEL "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." John 6:68 Monday, 17 June 2013 Monday of the Eleventh week in Ordinary Time Saint(s) of the day : St. Herve, Abbot, (6th century) See commentary below or click here Dorotheos of Gaza : " I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil" Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 5:38-42. Jesus said to his disciples: «You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on (your) right cheek, turn the other one to him as well. If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic, hand him your cloak as well. Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go with him for two miles. Give to the one who asks of you, and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow. Copyright © Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, USCCB Commentary of the day : Dorotheos of Gaza (c. 500-?), monk in Palestine Discourses, no. 1, 6-8 ; SC 92 (trans. ©Classics of Western spirituality) " I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil" The Law says, “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” (Ex 21,24), but our Lord admonishes us not only to bear patiently the blows of one who strikes us, but humbly to turn to him the other cheek. And so the object of the Law is to teach us not to do to others what we do not wish to suffer, and therefore it cuts away our wrong-doing through our fear of suffering. Now the object must be, as I am always saying, to cast away our hatred, our love of pleasure, our vainglory and the rest of our unruly desires... Christ teaches us by his holy precepts how to be cleansed from our own passions so that we do not fall again into those same sins. Finally he shows us how we come to despise and disobey the commandments of God and adds the medicine that all may be able to obey and be saved. What then is the medicine and what the cause of our contempt? Listen to what the Lord himself tells us: “Learn of me, for I am meek and humble of heart and you shall find rest for your souls” (Mt 11,29). There you have it in a nutshell: he has taught us the root and cause of all evils and also the remedy for it, leading to all good. He shows us that pretensions to superiority cast us down and that it is impossible to obtain mercy except by the contrary, that is to say, by humility. Self-elevation begets contempt and disobedience begets perdition, whereas humility begets obedience and the saving of souls. And I call that real humility which is not humble in word and outward appearance but is deeply planted in the very heart; for this is what the Lord meant when he said that “I am meek and humble of heart”. So let anyone desiring to find true humility and rest for his soul learn lowliness of mind.
Posted on: Mon, 17 Jun 2013 05:47:16 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015