It is in loving our enemies that we are exalted (HOMILY FOR SATURDAY OF THE 1ST WEEK OF LENT
Homily for Saturday of the 1st week of Lent Deut. 26:16-19; Ps.119; Matt.5:43-48 Theme: It is in loving our enemies that we are exalted In Matt.5:17, Jesus made it clear that He has come not to abolish the Law and the Prophets but to fulfil it. This means He has come to perfect what the Law and the Prophets aim at, namely, to reconcile man to God. Beginning from Deut.5:1, the Lord gave the law to the people through Moses. Today’s first reading is a conclusion to the giving of the law. This conclusion spells out a covenantal relationship wherein the parties involved have a duty towards each other. This relationship is conditional. If the people should keep the statutes and ordinances as the Lord commands, then the Lord shall set them high above all other nations and they shall be holy. The focus here is that the Lord promises to set them high above all other nations. Jesus the Son of God, is the New Covenant. He speaks directly to us (and not through the prophets), and He best explicate...