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TODAY’S WORD…

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Owe nothing to anyone – except for your obligation to love one another.

If you love your neighbour, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law.

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– Romans 13:8

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REFLECTION…

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St. Paul has an incredible way with words!

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As Christians we are obliged to love others

– all others, everybody, including those who do not love in return;

including those who are indifferent towards us, or worse…

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It is actually all about giving to others,

and not quite the other way round, which is what we may often expect.

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In his beautiful prayer, St Francis of Assisi, asks the Lord

to grant that he may not so much seek to be loved as to love.

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St. Francis recognises that “it is in giving that we receive",

and that as we give of ourselves,

we receive the peace and blessing of our risen Lord Jesus.

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We are all called to be saints and turn the world upside down;

to do and to bring the exact opposite of what we find in our world.

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Today, if you’re feeling bold enough,

ask the Lord for strength to love

and to give of yourself to meet the needs of others.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek

to be consoled as to console;

to be understood as to understand;

to be loved as to love.

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For it is in giving that we receive;

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;

and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. [St Francis of Assisi]

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