Monday, June 15, 2020 - Eleventh week of Ordinary Time - Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 5, 38-42 - Your word is the light of my feet, the lamp of my path.

Man is so keen on vengeance that he does not feel satisfied until it is accomplished, so as to aim at and hurt those who have offended him. Unsurprisingly, the desire for revenge has existed for a long time: the rule of "an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth" is already mentioned in the Law of Moses (Ex. 2, 24; Lev. 24,20; Deut. 19, 21). Those who cling to this state of mind, however, were left behind in the primitive spirit of the Old Testament, whereas Jesus already came and made the New Testament. Those who receive Him are renewed in Him. Let us see how Jesus brings about perfection: "It was said... I say to you ...". Jesus takes what is old, does not undo it but makes it better, more perfect, renewed. He does not want us to remain old, but to be constantly renewed in Him.

Step by step, God leads His people. To remain in the spirit of retaliation is therefore no longer relevant. In other words, vengeance is wrong and useless. Just as evil can only lead to evil, vengeance drags the perpetrator into an endless cycle. In should not return evil for evil but rather defeat it with good. Jesus taught us this when he forgave his executioners on the cross. Consider the evils we have done against God: yet He offers us His mercy when we return to Him. It is an expression of His love. There is not the least evil in God, and He wants His children to be like Him. So let us not think evil, let us not do evil, let us not wish evil on anyone. What good we do is not only for ourselves, but also for others: it is the fulfillment, the perfecting of the proportional vengeance mentioned in the Old Testament.

Certainly, it is not easy, but it is the only way in which the disciples of Christ - those who have become his brothers and sisters, the baptized; that is to say, Christians - must commit themselves. Because he loves us without exception.