Michael's Random Thoughts and Photos on Spirituality

Letting off steam

I am full, completely full, of partial forgiveness, of others and of myself. “I will forgive only in so far as….” You fill in the blank: only if the other person doesn’t do it again, or is really REALLY sorry - whatever. In today’s Gospel Jesus is bluntly saying “THE HATE STOPS HERE.” We often forget that Jesus was not a Catholic (we only began to be called Catholic some three hundred years after death and resurrection Jesus.). Jesus wasn’t even Christian (we weren’t called Christian until around 44ad, some 14years after His death and resurrection. We forget that Jesus was a Jew, a very good Jew who knew the Law and the Prophets and he practiced His faith. Early believers were simply Jews who believed Jesus was the promised Messiah; they continued to worship in the temple and obey the Mosaic Law, though they added going to their homes “in the evening” and “break bread” in memory of Him as He told them and us to do. The relationship between Jews and foreigners, as in today’s Gospe...