DOING OUR DUTIES SOLELY OUT OF LOVE - 11/08/22 (Tuesday of the Thirty-second Week in Ordinary Time)

Luke 17:10

“When you have done all you have been commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do.’”  

For the full readings, click here: 

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/110822.cfm

Blessed Tuesday! We are the servants of God. But, do we understand the implications of this? We are aware that Jesus Christ commands us to love God and to love our neighbors in other passages of the Scriptures. However, when we do it, our motivations may not be pure because self-interest may be mixed in. Consider the following. We may desire to help other people, to buy for the needs of our families and to be kind with everyone. However, what is our motivation for doing so? Is it because we want to follow God who tells us to love everyone? Or, is it because by doing good to others, we are expecting that they will do good to us as well? If the people around us do not give the approval that we are looking from them or if they do offend us, will we change our behavior towards them? If our motivations are not yet centered on God, it's easy for us to just love who loves us and to hate those who hate us. But, if we recognize that we have the duty to love our neighbors regardless of what they do, then this is an opportunity to persevere in pure love for them. We love them, not because of what they do, but simply because we love them, and God calls us to do this. This is also how Jesus treats us. Despite the fact that we sin and we neglect to remember His presence because of being too distracted by worldly things, our Lord always loves us, and He is always giving us the opportunity to repent of our sins and come back to Him. 

As we see in the gospel reading, we are unprofitable servants because we are doing all that we are obliged to do. Just as we should examine our motivation in loving our neighbors, we should also do it with regards to our love for our God. Because we love God, we persevere in following His will and commandments. We seek to avoid to commit sins such as being drunk, committing sexual sins, dwelling on anger and many more. But, what is our motivation for doing so? Though it's truly right to do what is good and obey God's commandments, it should always be done out of love. We should not be expecting that God will grant every wish or expectations we have as if we will, all of the sudden, reject God if things do not go according to our own ways. It is truly difficult to have a pure love for God and for our neighbors. Our hearts may not be totally pure because of our imperfections and weaknesses. But, nothing is impossible with God. May we be inspired to love God with pure intention as we recognize that despite our unworthiness, He is inviting us to everlasting happiness in heaven. God dwells in the hearts of the people who love Him and our neighbors. 

Amen +

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, be with us always until the hour of our death. Amen. +

 

May the Lord + bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen. +  

Reflection by: Dominic

Summary and Defense of Catholic Teachings:

https://www.catholic.com/tract/pillar-of-fire-pillar-of-truth

Ultimate Catholic Parents Guide:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=Ls6IcexZAls

Examination of Conscience and Guide to Sacrament of Confession:

https://mycatholic.life/catholic-prayers/examination-of-conscience/