2.2 Commitment
STAGE 2: Awareness of Self
MY RELATIONSHIPS
GENERATING LIFE
COMMITMENT
Aim: To commit ourselves to the Evangelical and Montfortian ways of relating with and loving our neighbour.
Readings
The extra mile (Mt 5:38-42): “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth’. But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you”.
Love for enemies (vv. 43-48): “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy’. But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect”.
Perfect love of our neighbour (TD 171-172): “This devotion is of great benefit to our neighbour, for by it we show love for our neighbour in an outstanding way since we give them through Mary’s hands all that we prize most highly – that is, the satisfactory and prayer value of all our good works, down to the least good thought and the least little suffering. We give our consent that all we have already acquired or will acquire until death should be used in accordance with our Lady’s will […]. Is this not perfect love of our neighbour? Is this not being a true disciple of our Lord, one who should always be recognised by his/her love? Is this not the way to [help others] without any danger of vainglory?”
“It must be noted that our good works, passing through Mary’s hands, are progressively purified […]. Stripped of self-will and clothed with disinterested love, the little that we give to the Blessed Virgin is truly powerful enough to […] draw down God’s mercy. It may well be that at the hour of death Christians who have been faithful to this devotion will find that they have freed many souls from Purgatory and converted many sinners, even though they performed only the ordinary actions of their state of life. Great will be their joy at the judgement. Great will be their glory throughout eternity!”
Comment
If I am ready to take risks with the persons I love, then I am also ready to take the “extra mile” with the people I am connected to at various levels, including those I am called to serve.
By the “extra mile” we mean the capacity to give, forgive and love beyond our human conventional ways. In fact, it is Christ’s way. He doesn’t say, though, “You have to smile at your enemies”, or “You have to show sympathy, consideration, admiration, and possibly affection for your enemies, for those who have wronged or hurt you”. Jesus is not stupid and knows that we cannot command our feelings. How can you expect a woman who is beaten by her husband to feel happy because of what he did to her? How can she smile at her husband? A man who has been cheated or screwed up at work, how can he feel affection or benevolence toward the person who has ruined his life and has thrown him on the rocks? The child who has been bullied at school, how can he entertain sentiments of love toward those who have victimized him?
No – Jesus says – we cannot have feelings of love towards the enemies. In fact he says another thing; he says, “Love him or her, even if he or she is your enemy”. That is, “Continue to do him or her good, to wish him or her well, and to look for what is better for him or her, even if he or she is your enemy”.
St. Louis-Marie de Montfort uses the principle of the “extra mile” to explain both the nature and the benefits of the “true devotion” to Mary. First, “this devotion consists in giving oneself entirely to Mary in order to belong entirely to Jesus Christ through her. […] In other words, we give her all that we possess both in our natural life and in our spiritual life […] without any reservation […] and without claiming or expecting in return any other reward than the honour of belonging to Our Lord through Mary and in Mary” (TD 121).
Second, this devotion is of great benefit to our neighbour because we give Mary our consent to invest all our merits as she wishes for the good of others. “Is this not perfect love of our neighbour?” asks Montfort. “Is this not being a true disciple of our Lord, one who should always be recognised by his/her love?” (TD 171).
Personal Reflection and Sharing
How do I intend to commit myself to the “extra mile”:
- In relationship with my neighbour, i.e., loving and serving others beyond conventional norms and expectations?
- In relationship with my devotion to Mary, i.e., loving her for the simple honour of belonging to her and for the good of others?
[2-2] CALL RESPONSE COMMITMENT PRAYER