Today's Gospel
16 June 2026 · Tuesday
11th Week in Ordinary Time
Matthew 5:43–48
You have heard it said:
"Love your neighbour.
Hate your enemy."
Makes sense.
Easy enough to live by.
Reward the good.
Punish the bad.
Love the people who love you.
Avoid the people who hurt you.
That is how the world operates.
And then Jesus said:
"But I say to you —
love your enemies.
Pray for those who persecute you.
So that you may be children of your Father
who is in heaven."
The crowd must have gone silent.
Not because it was complicated.
Because it was so difficult
it sounded impossible.
Then Jesus pressed further:
"For if you love those who love you —
what reward do you have?
Do not even tax collectors do the same?
And if you greet only your brothers —
what more are you doing
than others?
Do not even the Gentiles do the same?"
And then the most staggering line
in the Sermon on the Mount:
"Be perfect —
as your heavenly Father is perfect."
Reflection
Let us be honest with each other.
There are people in your life
who have genuinely hurt you.
People who spoke badly about you.
Who betrayed your trust.
Who walked away
when you needed them most.
And this reading asks you
to pray for them.
Not to pretend the hurt didn't happen.
Not to excuse what they did.
Not to invite them back into your life
as if nothing occurred.
But to pray for them.
To hold their name before God
and choose, even against your feelings,
to want good for them.
That is what Jesus is asking.
And here is why it matters:
When you hate —
you stay in the other person's power.
Every morning when you wake up
and the anger is still there —
they have you.
But when you pray for someone
who hurt you —
something shifts.
Not in them.
In you.
You stop being defined
by what was done to you.
You become someone
who acts from a higher place.
And that is what Jesus means
by "be perfect as your Father is perfect."
He is not asking for sinlessness.
He is asking for the kind of love
that does not depend on whether
it will be returned.
The love that gives
without keeping score.
The love that looks like God.
Context — Important
This is the culmination
of a series of teachings
in the Sermon on the Mount
where Jesus says
"You have heard it was said...
but I say to you."
He is not replacing the Law.
He is taking it to its source —
the heart of God.
God makes the sun rise
on the evil and the good.
God sends rain on the just
and the unjust alike.
His love is not proportional.
It is complete.
And we are called
to reflect that.
Truths to Remember
• Loving your enemy does not mean
approving of what they did
• Prayer for those who hurt you
changes you — not just them
• Selective love — only loving those
who love you — is not the Gospel
• "Be perfect" means be complete,
whole, undivided in love —
the way God's love is undivided
• This teaching is only possible
with grace — no one does this
by willpower alone
Prayer
Lord Jesus,
this is hard.
There are names I carry
that are not easy to pray for.
But I choose today —
not because I feel it —
but because You said so —
to bring those names before You
and ask for good to come to them.
Free me from the weight
of unforgiveness.
And let me love the way
You love.
Amen.
Is there someone
you have been struggling
to forgive or pray for?
You don't have to name them.
Just comment "I'm choosing love" —
and mean it.
#DailyGospel #Matthew5 #LoveYourEnemies #RiseWithTheWord📖 Today's Gospel
16 June 2026 · Tuesday
11th Week in Ordinary Time
Matthew 5:43–48
You have heard it said:
"Love your neighbour.
Hate your enemy."
Makes sense.
Easy enough to live by.
Reward the good.
Punish the bad.
Love the people who love you.
Avoid the people who hurt you.
That is how the world operates.
And then Jesus said:
"But I say to you —
love your enemies.
Pray for those who persecute you.
So that you may be children of your Father
who is in heaven."
The crowd must have gone silent.
Not because it was complicated.
Because it was so difficult
it sounded impossible.
Then Jesus pressed further:
"For if you love those who love you —
what reward do you have?
Do not even tax collectors do the same?
And if you greet only your brothers —
what more are you doing
than others?
Do not even the Gentiles do the same?"
And then the most staggering line
in the Sermon on the Mount:
"Be perfect —
as your heavenly Father is perfect."
✨ Reflection
Let us be honest with each other.
There are people in your life
who have genuinely hurt you.
People who spoke badly about you.
Who betrayed your trust.
Who walked away
when you needed them most.
And this reading asks you
to pray for them.
Not to pretend the hurt didn't happen.
Not to excuse what they did.
Not to invite them back into your life
as if nothing occurred.
But to pray for them.
To hold their name before God
and choose, even against your feelings,
to want good for them.
That is what Jesus is asking.
And here is why it matters:
When you hate —
you stay in the other person's power.
Every morning when you wake up
and the anger is still there —
they have you.
But when you pray for someone
who hurt you —
something shifts.
Not in them.
In you.
You stop being defined
by what was done to you.
You become someone
who acts from a higher place.
And that is what Jesus means
by "be perfect as your Father is perfect."
He is not asking for sinlessness.
He is asking for the kind of love
that does not depend on whether
it will be returned.
The love that gives
without keeping score.
The love that looks like God.
💡 Context — Important
This is the culmination
of a series of teachings
in the Sermon on the Mount
where Jesus says
"You have heard it was said...
but I say to you."
He is not replacing the Law.
He is taking it to its source —
the heart of God.
God makes the sun rise
on the evil and the good.
God sends rain on the just
and the unjust alike.
His love is not proportional.
It is complete.
And we are called
to reflect that.
💡 Truths to Remember
• Loving your enemy does not mean
approving of what they did
• Prayer for those who hurt you
changes you — not just them
• Selective love — only loving those
who love you — is not the Gospel
• "Be perfect" means be complete,
whole, undivided in love —
the way God's love is undivided
• This teaching is only possible
with grace — no one does this
by willpower alone
🙏 Prayer
Lord Jesus,
this is hard.
There are names I carry
that are not easy to pray for.
But I choose today —
not because I feel it —
but because You said so —
to bring those names before You
and ask for good to come to them.
Free me from the weight
of unforgiveness.
And let me love the way
You love. ✝️
Amen.
💬 Is there someone
you have been struggling
to forgive or pray for?
You don't have to name them.
Just comment "I'm choosing love" —
and mean it. 🙏
#DailyGospel #Matthew5
#LoveYourEnemies #RiseWithTheWord
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