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    Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time – February 23, 2020

      7th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)
      Confirmation Retreat Day ending with the 4:30pm Mass

      INTRO: Let’s play SPELLING BEE…… But, let’s do it in your minds …… spell the word: EASY
      “It is EASY for me to boil water…. EASY”
      Now, think about this:
      What is something that you do that you consider EASY?

      -could be boiling water
      -could be driving a car
      -could be doing MATH

      Now, in your minds spell the word: DIFFICULT
      “It is difficult for me to make a homemade pie crust…. DIFFICULT”
      AND, what is something that you do that you consider DIFFICULT?

      -could be MATH
      -could be balancing your checkbook
      -could be figuring out how to use a computer

      There could be a number of things!!
      Most people prefer EASY over DIFFICULT. This is so natural

      But in the life of a CHRISTIAN, a CATHOLIC, (one who is going to be “confirmed”) and a follower of JESUS …… we are expected to do DIFFICULT!

      We are supposed to do the challenging acts of loving all of our neighbors, good and bad, and of those who persecute us!

      YIKES! Those who persecute US???? Does JESUS mean “BULLIES”?
      And what about those, as Jesus says, who are our enemies??? We are supposed to LOVE OUR ENEMIES????

      This is very interesting to live this way.
      So, sounds like at times, the demands of the Gospel can feel incredibly burdensome and difficult.

      And yet, Jesus insists that
      His yoke is “easy” and
      His burden “light”.
      INTERESTING????

      Likewise, elsewhere in John’s letter, he insists that God’s commandments are not burdensome. And if a Christian feels that they are, then we are relying solely on our own strength to carry them out.

      And that’s the key to living this way of life….loving our enemies and persecutors!! We cannot rely on our own strength or abilities to take whatever our enemies/bullies do to us!

      CONCLUSION

      Here we are reminded that we are a people who have been given new life through our baptism and likewise strengthened in the Sacrament of CONFIRMATION to allow GOD
      YES Allow God
      To work through us in this difficult way of living: TO LOVE OUR ENEMIES, whoever we consider them to be.

      That’s how Christ was able to say:
      “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do!”

      I believe all of us can do the same!

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