Thursday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time
Love Without Boundaries
Liturgical Cycle: A | Lectionary Cycle: II
Introduction
Year II. In ancient Greece, much of the meat from sacrifices was sold as food for the people. By eating this meat, did Christians share in idolatry? They do not honour false gods, since these do not exist, says Paul. But as some Christians are scrupulous, it is better not to offend them and therefore to abstain from meat coming from sacrifices to false gods and to abstain from something they could legitimately do. That is love, and love should rule the community.
Gospel. Love does not rest on sympathies alone. A gospel-love, a love of faith, has no boundaries. One who loves gives more than asked and loves the “unlovable,” including enemies. It does not judge nor condemn, is always ready to be compassionate and forgiving. When we look at all these implications, we have to confess with shame that we are far from this ideal proposed to us by our Lord. How far are we in this world the sign of God’s own love?
Opening Prayer
God our Father,
from whom all good things come
and for whom we live,
fill us with your own gratuitous love,
the one you have shown us in Jesus Christ.
Teach us to love and bless
even those who curse or maltreat us.
Indeed, deepen and widen our limited love,
make it without measure, like yours,
that we may be called sons and daughters
of you, the Most High, our Father,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
First Reading
Victims Sacrificed to Idols
Regarding meat from offerings to idols, we understand that all of us have knowledge, but knowledge can make people proud, while love builds others up.
If anyone thinks they know, they do not yet understand as they should.
But if someone loves God, they are known by Him.
So, can we then eat meat offered to idols? We know that an idol is nothing and that there is only one God.
People do speak of other gods in heaven and on earth, and in this sense, many gods and lords exist.
However, for us, there is only one God—the Father, from whom everything comes, and to whom we belong. And there is one Lord, Christ Jesus, through whom everything was created, and through whom we also exist.
But not everyone has that knowledge. Some, until recently, took idols seriously, believing that food connected with the idol could stain their undeveloped consciences.
Then, your knowledge would cause your weak brother or sister to fall, the one for whom Christ died.
When you hurt the conscience of your brother or sister and sin against them, you also sin against Christ.
Therefore, if any food causes my brother or sister to stumble, I will never eat it, so they do not fall.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 139:1b-3, 13-14ab, 23-24
R. (24b) Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way.
O LORD, you have probed me and you know me;
you know when I sit and when I stand;
you understand my thoughts from afar.
My journeys and my rest you scrutinize,
with all my ways you are familiar.
R. Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way.
Truly you have formed my inmost being;
you knit me in my mother’s womb.
I give you thanks that I am fearfully, wonderfully made;
wonderful are your works.
R. Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way.
Probe me, O God, and know my heart;
try me, and know my thoughts;
See if my way is crooked,
and lead me in the way of old.
R. Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way.
Alleluia Verse
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
If we love one another,
God remains in us,
and his love is brought to perfection in us.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
I say to you who hear me:
Give to anyone who asks, and if someone has taken something from you, do not demand it back.
If you only lend when you expect to be repaid, what kind of grace do you have? For sinners also lend to sinners, expecting to get something back.
But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend without expecting anything in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.
Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
give, and it will be given to you—a good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be poured into your lap. For the measure you use will be the measure you receive.
Prayers of the Faithful
– For all Christians, that our readiness to forgive and our constant quest for tolerance and peace may point to Christ and his gospel, we pray:
– For all who can hardly believe in forgiveness, for those who give others no opportunities, for those who keep holding grudges, for those blinded by hatred, that God may enrich them with his mercy, we pray:
– For our Christian communities, that we may hear the call of Jesus to do away with our division and selfishness, and that he may help us to overcome evil by goodness, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
God our Father,
you treat alike sinners and those who love you
with the bread and drink of joy of your Son.
All are invited, all are loved.
Help us to set the table of ourselves
to friend and foe alike,
to those we love and those we fear.
May this be our offering to you,
which you accept through your Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
Compassionate Father,
through your Son you have asked us
in this eucharistic celebration
not to judge or condemn,
and even to grant generous pardon
to those whom we feel to have hurt us.
Let your Son Jesus Christ give us the capacity
to give without seeking repayment,
to claim no merit or credit,
but simply to love without boundaries,
as you have loved us in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Blessing
“If you love only those who love you, what credit is that to you? Love your enemies!” It is something very difficult to do, but it is at the core of Christianity. Let us ask the Lord for strength, for a Christian love deep enough to make us capable of this. May almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
REFLECTIONS
Luke 6:27-38
When Hatred Meets Mercy
Today's Gospel emphasizes a command: “Love your enemies.” Jesus isn't asking us to feel affection but to break the cycle of hatred through actions like doing good, blessing, praying, forgiving, and giving without expecting anything in return.
Fr Armellini clarifies that the love Jesus instructs is agape, which is a deliberate choice to pursue another’s well-being, even if they have wronged us. This love is not instinctual but emanates from the life of the Father within us. Loving an enemy shows our true identity because God consistently shows kindness even to the ungrateful and wicked.
Fr Ron Rolheiser calls love of enemies the test of Christian discipleship. Jesus takes hatred into himself and gives back love; he receives curses and returns blessings; he absorbs violence and offers forgiveness. Christians are called to become such transformers, refusing to retransmit the bitterness they receive.
This does not imply tolerating abuse or sacrificing justice. Instead, it involves seeking justice while avoiding cruelty, establishing boundaries without hatred, and speaking the truth without demeaning others. The virtue of mercy prevents the enemy from controlling our hearts and moulding us into their likeness.
“Give, and it will be given to you,” Jesus promises. The measure we extend becomes the measure shaping our souls. Today, may we name one person we find difficult and place that person before God. May prayer soften our resentment, enlarge our compassion, and show us one good we can do. When hostility meets mercy and travels no farther, God’s kingdom has begun within us, here and now.