Reflection for the Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time, February 19, 2023

by Dick Connealy, Notre Dame Associate

Love your enemy, pray for those who do you ill. That seems like a very hard thing to do until you realize one simple fact.

All the hate, resentment, and anger you have is like carrying heavy stones around with you 24 hours a day. They make you tired and rob you of your peace of mind. And they do nothing to the people who you are angry at. It doesn’t destroy their peace of mind.

Forgiving those who may have done you harm is really a gift to yourself. You are free to set down the burden of carrying those heavy stones of anger and resentment and being at peace with yourself, and that is the greatest gift of all.