Thursday of week 23 in Ordinary Time
First Reading
1 Corinthians 8:1–7,11–13
Now concerning those things that are sacrificed to idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up; but charity edifieth.
And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he hath not yet known as he ought to know.
But if any man love God, the same is known by him.
But as for the meats that are sacrificed to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no God but one.
For although there be that are called gods, either in heaven or on earth (for there be gods many, and lords many).
Yet to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we unto him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.
But there is not knowledge in every one. For some until this present, with conscience of the idol: eat as a thing sacrificed to an idol, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled.
And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ hath died?
Now when you sin thus against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ.
Wherefore, if meat scandalize my brother, I will never eat flesh, lest I should scandalize my brother.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 138(139):1–3,13–14,23–24
Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way.
Lord, thou hast proved me, and known me:
thou hast known my sitting down, and my rising up.
Thou hast understood my thoughts afar off:
my path and my line thou hast searched out.
Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way.
For thou hast possessed my reins:
thou hast protected me from my mother’s womb.
I will praise thee, for thou art fearfully magnified:
wonderful are thy works, and my soul knoweth right well.
Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way.
Prove me, O God, and know my heart:
examine me, and know my paths.
And see if there be in me the way of iniquity:
and lead me in the eternal way.
Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way.
Gospel Acclamation
Alleluia, alleluia!
If we love one another,
God will live in us in perfect love.
Alleluia!
Gospel
Luke 6:27–38
But I say to you that hear: Love your enemies, do good to them that hate you.
Bless them that curse you, and pray for them that calumniate you.
And to him that striketh thee on one cheek, offer also the other. And him that taketh away from thee thy cloak, forbid not to take thy coat also.
Give to every one that asketh thee, and of him that taketh away thy goods, ask them not again.
And as you would that men should do to you, do you also to them in like manner.
And if you love them that love you, what thanks are to you? For sinners also love those that love them.
And if you do good to them who do good to you, what thanks are to you? For sinners also do this.
And if you lend to them of whom you hope to receive, what thanks are to you? For sinners also lend to sinners, for to receive as much.
But love ye your enemies: do good, and lend, hoping for nothing thereby: and your reward shall be great, and you shall be the sons of the Highest; for he is kind to the unthankful, and to the evil.
Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.
Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you shall be forgiven.
Give, and it shall be given to you: good measure and pressed down and shaken together and running over shall they give into your bosom. For with the same measure that you shall mete withal, it shall be measured to you again.
Reflection
“Knowledge puffeth up; but charity edifieth.” Saint Paul is not dismissing knowledge or asking Christians to remain ignorant. He is exposing the danger of knowledge separated from love. We can be technically correct and still use the truth selfishly, placing our freedom above another person’s spiritual good.
The Christians in Corinth knew that idols had no genuine power and that food offered to them remained ordinary food. Their conclusion was correct. Yet Paul asks them to notice the believer whose conscience is still troubled by former associations with idolatry. If exercising a legitimate freedom encourages that person to act against conscience, knowledge has ceased to serve love.
Paul’s response is striking. He does not ask first, “What am I entitled to do?” He asks, “What will help my brother remain faithful to Christ?” Christian freedom is not the power to disregard others. It is the freedom to surrender even something lawful when love requires it. Charity seeks another person’s eternal good and therefore gives form and direction to every virtue (CCC 1822–1829).
This does not mean allowing another person’s every fear or opinion to control us. A conscience needs to be formed by truth, Scripture, prayer and the teaching of the Church (CCC 1783–1785). Yet formation cannot be forced through humiliation or careless example. The stronger believer must walk patiently with the weaker, remembering Paul’s searching description: this is “a brother for whom Christ hath died”.
The responsorial psalm turns the examination inward. God knows our sitting down and rising, our thoughts and paths, and the hidden motives beneath our outward choices. We may present ourselves as enlightened, reasonable or generous, but God sees whether our knowledge has made us proud and whether our freedom has become an excuse for indifference.
The psalmist does not flee from that searching gaze. He invites it: “Prove me, O God, and know my heart.” This is a brave prayer because it asks God to uncover what we would prefer not to see. It is also a trusting prayer. The God who examines us is the God who formed us in the womb and whose works are wonderful. His knowledge is not cold surveillance but the attention of the Creator who desires to lead us along the eternal way.
Jesus then reveals how far charity must reach. Loving those who love us is natural; the love of the kingdom goes beyond reciprocity. Christ commands his disciples to do good to those who hate them, bless those who curse them and pray for those who mistreat them. Christian love is not governed by what another person deserves but by the mercy we ourselves have received.
Love of enemies does not require us to pretend that evil is harmless. Nor does turning the other cheek mean remaining in an abusive situation or denying the need for justice. Jesus forbids revenge and the desire to answer injury with injury. We may establish necessary boundaries and seek protection while refusing to let hatred shape our hearts.
The measure of this love is the Father himself: “Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.” God is kind even to the unthankful and the evil. His mercy does not approve wrongdoing; it continues to desire the sinner’s conversion and life. When Christians forgive, pray for an enemy or give without expecting repayment, they make the Father’s character visible.
The Catechism teaches that Christ’s command to forgive reaches the deepest places of the heart. We cannot fulfil it through determination alone. The Holy Spirit gradually changes the wounded heart, enabling it to participate in the mercy of Christ (CCC 2842–2845). Forgiveness may take time, but prayer for the offender can be the first honest movement away from bitterness.
All three readings therefore ask what governs our relationships. Knowledge alone may leave us self-important. The searching light of God reveals our hidden motives. Christ then calls us beyond calculated exchange into a mercy that gives without demanding an equal return.
A practical beginning may be small. We can refrain from using our freedom in a way that unsettles another person. We can resist passing judgement on motives we cannot see. We can pray by name for someone who has hurt us. We can offer kindness where no reward is likely. Such actions do not make us weak; they conform us to the Father whose mercy is stronger than resentment.
Paul asks us to remember that the person before us is someone for whom Christ died. Jesus asks us to treat even an enemy as someone whom the Father still desires to save. When that truth moves from our minds into our conduct, knowledge no longer inflates the ego. It becomes charity, and charity builds the household of God.
One line to carry today:
Let what you know become love, and let the mercy you have received become mercy for someone else.
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