Renungan Harian Katolik Untuk Para Pekerja / Orang Sibuk

Tuesday 11th week in ordinary time

"Mt 5:43-48" "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you?...You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect."

Loving our enemies is a sign of taking after our 'Father who is in heaven'. To be like our heavenly Father implies also that we 'must be perfect'. When Jesus says "be perfect", He's not asking us to be obsessive perfectionists, but rather to strive for perfection; not to settle for mediocrity but to want to improve always. He didn't say 'don't fight back against your enemies', He said, "love your enemies and pray for them". That's perfection. Because 'loving those who love us' is very easy! Of all of Jesus' teachings, loving our enemies is one of the most difficult to live.

In 2002, 24-year-old Eric Smallridge was drink-driving. He hit and killed two young girls: Meagan Napier and Lisa Dickson. He was sentenced to prison for 22 years. Distraught, he had even thought about ending his life when, at the end of the trial, Renee Napier, Meagan's mum and a good Christian, approached him, forgave him and hugged him. Eric broke into tears. Eventually all the members of the two families forgave him. He changed his ways and came close to God. Later both the Napier and Dickson families approached the legal system to ask for Eric's sentence to be reduced and it was granted. Since then, Eric has spent his life fighting against drink-driving. Because he was forgiven, he in turn was able to change many lives. That's the power of forgiveness.

One day Jesus said to St Faustina: "Have great love for those who cause you suffering. Do good to those who hate you. Be always merciful as I am merciful. Love everyone out of love for Me, even your greatest enemies".

Our Lady, Refuge of Christians, intercede for persecuted Christians and for those who persecute them, the enemies of humanity, those who enslave others, who loot, who murder, who sell their fellow human beings, terrorist organisations, and regimes that imprison Christians or forbid religion...

Monday 11th week in ordinary time

"Mt 5:38-42"

"You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I say to you, Do not resist one who is evil. But if any one strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also; and if any one would sue you and take your coat, let him have your cloak as well; and if any one forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to him who begs from you, and do not refuse him who would borrow from you."

In the old days, if someone struck you and you lost one of your teeth, you had the right to strike back. But you needed to calculate the strike well, for if two teeth fell, he may have had to strike you again to get even. You can guess how this could end: both toothless. To answer one injustice with another injustice only makes things worse. Children say sometimes: 'He started it!' Or even: 'It all started when he punched me back!'

But Our Lord's lesson is infallible. We Christians have to be ready to receive injustice and never hit back. That's the end of the argument. Have you ever thought what would happen if, when they call you 'ugly' you smile and keep doing what you were doing? 'Nothing'. Exactly! And if, on the contrary, you find another name to call that person back...? This is the lesson, the infallible way to stop all arguments, discussions and fights: don't answer back.

We can ask Jesus for the humility we need to be able to receive injustice and remain always calm and cheerful. Follow the example of the saints. One day a group of envious priests wrote a letter to the bishop asking for St John Mary Vianney, Curé of Ars, to be removed from the parish of Ars because he was ignorant and useless. The letter was sent round the parishes to be signed by all other priests who might want to sign it. By accident, the letter ended up on St John Mary's desk as well. He read it and saw the names and denunciations. What was his reaction? He signed his own name on it, stamped it and sent it off to the bishop! You can imagine how funny the bishop thought it was. Of course, he was never removed. He was humble enough to react to injustice calmly and cheerfully.

Holy Mary, Mother of Good Counsel, teach me to always react meekly to any injustice I may suffer.

Saturday 10th week in ordinary time

"Mt 5:33-37"

"Again you have heard that it was said to the men of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.' But I say to you, do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let what you say be simply 'Yes' or 'No'; anything more than this comes from evil."

Our Lord was very clear about the danger of not keeping our tongue tamed. It is not about finding the line between vulgarity, rude words and blasphemy. A few chapters later St Matthew refers to other powerful words of Jesus, "I tell you, on the day of judgment men will render account for every careless word they utter" (12:36). The teaching is simple: 'what you wouldn't say in front of the throne of God, don't say it'. For you are in fact before God all the time.

The Apostle St James explained in his letter the importance of taming the tongue with an example: "Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire!" That is the first teaching of today's Gospel – to think carefully what we say before we say it.

But there is a second point. What about 'those' who swear and even blaspheme, in front of us? They should be helped with charity. When St John Bosco was about 9 years old he had a dream. He was in a yard full of poverty-stricken boys who were blaspheming and swearing. Wanting to stop them mouthing "these evil words", John ran at them and started striking them with his fists. But he was prevented from throwing punches by a man in a white cloak whose face shone so brightly that young John could hardly look at him. The man said: "You will have to win over these friends of yours not by blows but by gentleness and love… I want you to teach them the ugliness of sin."

When people utter bad words we can't just remain silent. Mary, Virgin Most Prudent, help me to tame my tongue and teach me to find the way to help others do the same.

Thursday 10th week in ordinary time

"Mt 5:20-26"

"I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven…if you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift."

We can't approach the Altar of Sacrifice in any old way. To be ready to participate in the Sacrifice of the Altar we need first to be 'reconciled'. St Paul was very clear when he explained to the first Christians that "whoever eats the Bread or drinks the Cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the Body and Blood of the Lord" and so he invited them to "examine" themselves first, because "any one who eats and drinks without discerning the Body eats and drinks judgement upon himself." (1Co 11:27-29)

In April 390 Emperor Theodosius sent his army to Thessalonica to crush a revolt. The Roman soldiers slayed seven thousand people without trial, innocent and guilty alike. According to historian Theodoret, when the emperor, accompanied by his court, tried to enter the Milanese cathedral to attend Mass, the bishop St Ambrose rebuked the emperor and forbade him to attend the Holy Mass until he repented and did penance. Theodoret explains that Theodosius "had been brought up according to divine words and understood well": he could do nothing but return "weeping and sighing" to the palace.

Receiving Holy Communion in a state of mortal sin is a sacrilege that demands reparation. The Angel of Fatima asked the three children to say this prayer in reparation: "Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I adore You profoundly, and I offer You the Most Precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges and indifferences by which He is offended. And by the infinite merits of His most Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg the conversion of poor sinners."

Holy Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, increase my love for Our Lord really present in Holy Communion and teach me to make reparation for sacrileges against the Eucharist.

Wednesday 10th week in ordinary time

"Mt 5:17-19"

"Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfil them. For truly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Whoever then relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but he who does them and teaches them shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven."

God, as a good professor, teaches things gradually. It's like a building: The Old Testament is the foundation. On top of a solid base you can build. Jesus didn't demolish what God taught in the Old Testament to start from scratch. No. All that was the foundation necessary to build more on top. As the Scout song says: Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other gold. With silver and gold, we now have the jewel of the Bible. God has left us all we need there. No more. No less. God wanted the inspired authors to record those words and no others for you and for me.

In 1964 the Romanian government released religious and political prisoners. One of them, Richard Wurmbrand, had spent nearly three of his fourteen years in prison in solitary confinement. He described how one day a new prisoner named Avram arrived in the prison. The upper part of his body was in a plaster cast. When the guards left him, he drew out a small tattered book from behind the plaster cast. None of the other prisoners had seen a book for years. It was the Gospel of John. Wurmbrand later wrote that no life-saving drug could have been more precious to him than the 'Life of Our Lord'. From that day the tattered little book went from hand to hand; many learned it by heart and each day they would discuss it among themselves.

"When you open the Holy Gospel, think that what is written there — the words and deeds of Christ — is something that ... has been gathered, detail by detail, for you to make it come alive in the individual circumstances of your life. Take up the Gospel every day, then, and read it and live it as a definite rule. This is what the saints have done" (St Josemaría). Mary, My Mother, help me to be consistent in my daily reading of the Word of God.

St Barnabas, Apostle

"Mt 10:7-13"

Jesus said to his apostles, "preach as you go, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.' Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying, give without pay. Take no gold, nor silver, nor copper in your belts, no bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor a staff; for the labourer deserves his food. And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it, and stay with him until you depart. As you enter the house, salute it. And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you."

This is the commandment for all Christians: "Preach as you go." Wherever you go, whatever you do, whomever you are with, whoever you are... preach as you go! Today we celebrate the feast of St Barnabas, the apostle. He wasn't one of the Twelve but probably was among the 72 disciples who Jesus sent to preach ahead of Him. In today's Gospel we read the instructions that Jesus gave to them, and that we can summarise as: 'preach as you go, and don't worry about anything else; just rely on God.' And that is exactly what St Barnabas did.

We know two important things about Barnabas. 1) He was generous: he "sold a field which belonged to him, and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet" to be distributed among the needy. 2) He was a 'good scout' a great ‘talent-spotter'. After the martyrdom of St Stephen many Christians ran away from Jerusalem. Many went to Antioch and spread their faith there. The Apostles heard of it and sent St Barnabas there. In Antioch he found that Christians had multiplied by the thousands. He realised he couldn't cope with all that apostolic work by himself, and so he did something that changed the history of the world: "Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul; and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch." He searched for St Paul and set him to work. God called St Paul with the help of St Barnabas. You see? Saul became St Paul because Barnabas went for him! You and I are apostles who have to look for more apostles, find them, bring them to Jesus and, together with them, change the course of history. Holy Mary, Queen of the Apostles, help me to be generous, to be an apostle and to set out to find others whom God wants to make into apostles too.