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June 9 - Mt. 5: 17-19

Fr. Michael MachacekNativity of Our LordJune 9, 2021
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today's other readings are 2 Corinthians 3: 4-11 and Psalm 99

Today's gospel passage is part of the Sermon on the Mount, which takes up chapters 5-7 of Matthew's gospel.  Ff Jesus said all of this in one sitting, His listeners must have been quite attentive and patient. 

Now in this particular passage He speaks of not abolishing the law but fulfilling it.  And He tells us not to break any of them.  

But hold on - Jesus was a master of breaking the laws - such as touching lepers before they were declared clean, frequently breaking the law to rest on the sabbath by performing countless miracles, and on and on.  

But He did so by carrying out the spirit of the law - to do so out of love.  For in doing, He was imitating the example of His and Our Father, whose actions all flow from love.  

There are many laws in our Catholic faith that we are told to follow, such as refraining from meat particularly on the Fridays of Lent.  But when I hear stories of people having an extravagant type of seafood on such Fridays, I question their priorities.  For these Fridays are meant to be a day of fasting, not feasting.  And we fast to remind ourselves of our reliance on God, of what we truly need in our lives, and to do so in solidarity with the poor.  Most of all, we fast not because we are told to, but because went want to, and love provides the motivation to do so.  

Let us pray then that love be the motivations of all of our actions.  And when we do so, we fulfill the law.