Today, let us pray for the strength to forgive those who have hurt us.

Fr. Damian Cesanek, OFM

“Take up your cross and follow me,” Jesus would tell the poor, hungry, weeping, or persecuted as he spoke to those in the Beatitudes. In the fifth Beatitude, he encourages us to be merciful, for those who are merciful will be shown mercy; in other words, the measure we measure with will be measured back to us. God loves each of us unconditionally and wants us to co-create with Him a kingdom of peace and justice (the 6th, 7th, and 8th Beatitudes). Blessed are those who are persecuted for justice, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Fr. Damian Cesanak, OFM, is a Franciscan friar and Catholic priest ministering in retirement in St. Bernard, Ohio.

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