Monday 11 September

Colossians 1:24-2:3, Psalm 62, Luke 6:6-11

Restorative love

St. Paul makes no bones about it. A servant of the Church who is also a servant of the Gospel will suffer. Am I a person who is prepared to suffer as Jesus Christ suffered? Do I only think about this on Good Friday? Turning from pharisaical love to evangelical love is not helped if I pretend that rules do not matter much. Rules infused with love are doubly good for civilized life. Am I a person who serves the Church by enlivening her rules with love? Restoring love in marriages, families and parishes is the hardest evangelical action a lay disciple can undertake. It often feels like servitude and weakness.