A clear instruction manual

I battled a case of food poisoning starting Tuesday night and into Wednesday night, so I didn’t feel much like writing. There were a couple of things I wanted to get out there, though, so I’ll start by saying,


Happy Birthday, Blessed Mother! You don’t look a day over 29, if the statues carved and pictures painted over the last couple of millennia are accurate! Lol.

What do you give someone who already has (virtually) everything she will ever need? What more could she need now that she is in the presence of her Father, Son and Spouse? Maybe the only gift any of us can offer to her is to honor her request that we say the rosary every day for the conversion of sinners.

Speaking of gifts, Lily got a child-sized rocking chair for Christmas last year, but she wasn’t old enough to enjoy it at 1 year old, so we put it away until this week. Marilyn had me put it together. I didn’t want to do it at first because instructions included with most pieces of furniture I’ve ever assembled usually caused me to grumble and fumble my way through the assembly. But I was pleasantly surprised by the manufacturer’s decision to label each individual piece, including the screws and match those labels to the step-by-step instructions and clear pictures.


I can relate this to the Gospel for Thursday, Lk 6:27-38. Jesus’ instructions for how to treat one another are so clear, there is no way anyone could misinterpret them—not that we don’t try constantly. I’ll bet that every situation Jesus mentions in this Gospel are experienced by all of us every single day to some degree or another. How about it? Can you follow directions? I must admit that I often act like a typical man and don’t bother with instructions—and as a result, I usually have to step back and look to see which instruction I failed to follow before I can finish the job.


Just to prove how simple the Gospel is, I am going back to an old format for my blog (just for today’s entry) and pasting the passage here:


Jesus said to his disciples:
"To you who hear I say, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.


To the person who strikes you on one cheek, offer the other one as well, and from the person who takes your cloak, do not withhold even your tunic.


Give to everyone who asks of you, and from the one who takes what is yours do not demand it back.


Do to others as you would have them do to you. For if you love those who love you,
what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them.


And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same.


If you lend money to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you?  Even sinners lend to sinners, and get back the same amount.


But rather, love your enemies and do good to them, and lend expecting nothing back; then your reward will be great and you will be children of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.


Be merciful, just as also your Father is merciful.


Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give and gifts will be given to you;
a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you."