by: Deacon Paul Rooney (deaconpaul@cox.net)
7th Sunday in Ordinary Time
(Cycle "C" - February 22, 2004)

Q. 255: Lend without expecting to get anything back? Love and forgive my enemies? Give to everyone who asks something from me? If someone takes my trousers, I'm to give them my underwear as well? Hey, isn't this "mission impossible"?

A. 255: Jesus really seems to set the bar high in today's Gospel (Lk 6:27-38), doesn't he? Actually, the "bar" is not high at all; it is just not viewed properly by sinful humanity. Our God is always calling us to holiness. He wants us to be "fully human," which means to "be" the image of God that he created us to be. And we cannot "be" that image without two things: the desire to change our fundamental attitudes, and the help of the Holy Spirit. Only through God's grace, freely accepted, can we be transformed.

The challenge is to find a human role model who can show us that it is possible to be self-sacrificing. In the First Reading (1 Sam 26) we see David foregoing an opportunity to slay his enemy, Saul, who was trying to kill him. In the Second Reading (1 Cor 15:49) we hear St. Paul's advice to bear the image of the Prince of Peace. But the ultimate solution is to look to Jesus Christ as our model of behavior. Even on the cross, he forgave his enemies and asked the Father to forgive them. Jesus showed us how to become selfless, to give all for the benefit of others, even his very own life. He did not come to condemn us, but to show us the way to live, to redeem us and become our salvation. His words in today's gospel help us to focus on our attitudes towards everyone.

Lent is only three days away. It is a time to refocus on true spirituality, becoming "fully human," seeking to self-sacrifice for the benefit of others. Our attitude must be that of Christ, as St. Paul teaches us (Phil 2:5). Now is the time to be forgiving, the time for prayer, for fasting, for almsgiving, and for seeking social justice. Each of these behaviors reflects the contents of our heart, and measures how well we "image" Jesus.

Know Your Catechism! By having us focus on basic interior attitudes, Jesus is expressing the Golden Rule, which always applies (CCC #1789; 1970). Being merciful and perfect like the Father has to come from within, by the power of the Holy Spirit (CC #2842); so beg the Spirit to strengthen you and empower you to live as a true image of Jesus. May this Lenten season become radical grace for each of us!

Deacon Paul Rooney
Mary Our Queen Parish, Omaha