Thursday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time

Love Without Limits: Living God’s Mercy Every Day

Today we are given one of the most challenging passages in the Gospel — Luke 6:27-38 — where Jesus tells us to love our enemies, to do good to those who hate us, to bless those who curse us, and to pray for those who mistreat us. These words might stop us in our tracks because, on the surface, they sound impossible. And yet, they are at the heart of what it means to follow Jesus.

He says, ‘If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same.’ What makes Christian love different is not how we love those who love us, but how we respond to those we find hard to love. He is calling us higher — to a different kind of love, one that is completely selfless, expecting nothing in return. A love without limits.

We might ask ourselves: How often have we done something for someone else without any expectation of reward or recognition? No payback, no praise, no credit — simply giving out of love. And better yet, will we do something like that today?

Now, as we hear these powerful words, we do so on a date seared into our national consciousness: September 11th. Today we remember the thousands of lives lost and all those forever changed on that tragic day in 2001. The hurt of that day still lingers — for families, first responders, communities, and for our whole nation. It was a day of evil, suffering, fear, and loss.

And yet, in the face of tremendous darkness, we also witnessed incredible moments of compassion, courage, and unity that reflected God’s love at work in ordinary people. Jesus’ command to love in the face of hate became real in the firefighters who ran into dangerous buildings, the strangers who helped strangers, the families who still chose faith over vengeance.

But we do not speak only of the past. We also grieve today’s headlines. We think of the recent shooting at the Catholic church in Minneapolis — a place that should be a sanctuary of peace — turned into a place of violence. And now, the shocking assassination of Charlie Kirk on a college campus. These events shake us. They make us wonder what is happening in our world. They stir up a storm of emotions — anger, fear, grief, confusion.

And yet, even in the middle of pain and chaos, the words of Jesus remain. He says to us still: Love. Be merciful. Forgive. Give, expecting nothing in return.

This does not mean we ignore evil. It does not mean we forget those who suffer. It means we choose not to answer darkness with more darkness. It means we live differently — not by the law of retaliation, but by the power of resurrection.

The Lord invites us today to something radical: to mirror God’s own mercy. ‘Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful,’ Jesus tells us. When we forgive, when we pray for our enemies, when we respond to hatred with charity and blessing, we become living signs of a different kingdom — the kingdom of God.

So I ask you once again: Will you do something today for someone, expecting nothing back? A gesture of kindness, a word of forgiveness, a moment of prayer for someone who may even be the cause of your pain? That’s not weakness. That’s holiness. That’s Christ-like strength.

As we leave here today, hold these words in your heart: ‘Give, and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap.’ When we pour out love to others — even in the hardest moments — God promises to fill us with more than we gave.

Let us be a people who show mercy in a world that thirsts for it. Let us live love without limits.