We must love & forgive because God loves & forgives us!

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 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.” – Luke 6: 27-38

By FATHER KURT YOUNG
Guest columnist

When I was a young boy, I had trouble sharing my toys.

We used to have other kids over at our house all the time because my mom would watch them while their parents were at work. I tried to hide my toys from them. I would take my things out of their hands and put them away. I did not like to share. They were my toys!
 
There was this one boy who I did not like very much. Not only did I not like him playing with my toys, but I also did not like him to be around me. He used to follow me and try to be like me, and I would get very annoyed. I can still remember my mom saying, “Kurt, remember that he follows you because he looks up to you. Be nice because you would want him to be nice to you.”

I never forgot that because that was probably the first time that I thought about what it would be like for somebody to treat me badly. I remember thinking to myself, “If someone took their toys away from me or ran away from me all the time, I would get very upset.”

I cannot say I was always a nice kid, but I tried to remember what my mom said from that day forward. I tried to treat others nicely and to be kind to them as I would like them to treat me.

In our Gospel, Jesus teaches us how we should treat others. “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you.” And he says, “Do to others as you would have them do to you.”
  
We would not want others to be mean to us or ignore us or hurt our feelings, so we should not be mean to others or hurt their feelings. If we want others to treat us with respect and kindness and love, we have to treat them with respect and kindness and love. Do unto others as you would have them do to you.

And we want God to love us, right? We want God to forgive us when we mess up and sin, right? We want God to take care of us and answer our prayers, right? Then, we have to love others and be kind to others and forgive others when they mess up and are unkind to us. If we want others to treat us with respect and kindness and love, if we want God to love us and forgive us, then we have to be a model of love and kindness to all those we meet.

Following the teachings of Christ is not complicated. Christ calls us to love and respect others. Being a Christian means loving and respecting others, including those we may not like, even our enemies.

As a young boy, I was not always kind to the other children my mom used to watch, but I tried to be. I started sharing my toys and hanging around with the kid who annoyed me. I did not always like to do it, but it felt good to be kind.

May we follow the example of Jesus, who loves us even when we sin and who died on the cross for us even though we do not deserve his love. Let us try to be a little more like Jesus this week.

Father Kurt Young was ordained to the priesthood in 2012, first serving as the parochial vicar of St. Philip Neri Church in Metairie. He went on to become director of vocations for the Archdiocese of New Orleans from 2014-19, and subsequently was named to his current assignment as director of human formation at Notre Dame Seminary. A graduate of St. Edward the Confessor Elementary and Archbishop Rummel High schools, Father Young, 35, has served as Rummel’s chaplain since 2013. Three years ago, Father Young also felt a call to enter the U.S. Navy as a chaplain in the Reserves. He is currently on his first deployment (through August 2022), after which he will return to teach at Notre Dame Seminary.