Reflection from your Co-Pastors
Thursday, June 10, 2021
Matthew's Gospel 5: 20-26
Jesus tells us in Matthew's Gospel Chapter 5, that reconciliation is of utmost importance. He teaches that if we are approaching the altar and recall that our brother or sister has anything against us-- or vice versa-- we should "go first and be reconciled with your brother/ sister and then come to offer your gift at the altar."
Reconciliation is done by the one who offers it, not just something that happens to the estranged people. One can reconcile face-to-face, In writing, by phone, or in the recesses of your own heart, between you and God.
Forgiveness and reconciliation are essential themes in Christianity. We are called to love everyone without exception, however, loving an oppressor does not mean allowing him/her to keep oppressing us or letting him/her think that what they do is acceptable. Sr.Joan Chittister instructs us that, "on the contrary, true love for an oppressor means seeking ways to make him cease his oppression. It means stripping him of a power that he does not know how to use and that diminishes his own humanity and that of others."
