There it is! Plain and (not so) simple. Certainly not easy. If you want to be a disciple of Jesus, you must find the kind of heart by which you can forgive your brother or sister “seventy-seven times.”
This past June 8-25, we were treated at the weekday Masses to Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). We were reminded of the revolutionary dream of Jesus that there would be a community of persons who would live this extraordinary vision of Christian living. We had the Beatitudes, the “Golden Rule,” going the extra mile, turning the other cheek, forgiving your enemies, etc. An amazing model of discipleship, and as Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German Lutheran pastor, wrote, at quite a cost.
This past July 4th, our American-born pope, Leo XIV, chose to visit the island of Lampedusa, a major destination for immigrants fleeing civil wars, poverty, and worse. Sadly, thousands of migrants and refugees have drowned before reaching the island, especially children. Recall that Pope Francis had also visited this island. It was his first trip outside of Rome, following his election back in 2013. He famously said, “We have fallen into the globalization of indifference . . . we are unable to care for one another.” In other words, we are unable to have an open and forgiving heart, going the extra mile, as Jesus called for in that extraordinary sermon.
Pope Leo concluded his visit to Lampedusa by celebrating Mass. He spoke to local civil and church leaders, saying, “(I) did not come to make speeches but to celebrate the Eucharist: the supreme sign of Jesus Christ among us.”
May we go forth from Mass or our prayer today to live as Jesus envisioned: poor in spirit, peacemakers, and in the words that Jesus taught us, being that forgiving presence of Christ
Let Us Pray:
O God, what will you do to conquer the fearful hardness of our hearts? Lord, You must give us new hearts, tender hearts, sensitive hearts, to replace hearts that are made of marble and of bronze. You must give us Your own heart, Jesus. (Saint Claude de la Colombiere SJ)
