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Amazing Grace?

The Winter Olympics?

Do you not know that you are the temple of God?

And that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

Cor. 3:16, today' second reading.

The winter Olympics are a dazzling display of the wonders of the human body and the animating spirit. Bodies are exposed not for any pornographic voyeurism, but rather  to show the marvelous twists, turns, leaps, tripple axils, that propel the human body into exploits almost unimaginable.

Amazing Grace!

And the nations come together to compete peacefully, exhibiting that comradeship can coexist with

competition.

In the Summer Olympics, one of the great events is the pole vault where the bar keeps being raised for even higher and higher jumps.

In today's Gospel, Jesus raises the bar for human behavour higher than it has ever been raised and he challenges  us to be champions in the great art of love:

..."as eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth,

...but I say to you...love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you..."

That is a high standard indeed! Last night my cousin Rosemary and I were at Clancey's Pub to watch the Jays play Marquette. There were a cluster of Jay fans gathered there. When Rosemary sat next to one of the ladies, the other responded: "There is that Father Fitzgerald....I don't like him. He is too liberal."

I laughed later for this previously unknown "enemy" could not have realized that Rosemary was my kin. We all have enemies. Most often they are harmless like this lady. But how do we in practice go about LOVING them?

Well, Jesus says, "pray for them."

And Levitucus in the first reading says, "You shall not bear hatred in your heart..."

So if our heart is calm, neither anxious nor troubled, then our inner peace is a bulwark against any slings or arrows, slights, or offenses. Praying with a gentle heart will refine away a hostile response.

'Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make our heart like unto thine."

Breakfast Question: How do I calm my heart?

Personal Reflection: What "enemies" do I need to pray for?