More Than a Mile - Weekday Homily Video

A nine-year-old girl was walking through the fields a little away from her home when two men approached her and asked for help collecting fruits from the forest. Because she was brought up with the good habit of showing courtesy to her elders, the girl quickly agreed to help.

After a few minutes, she realized it was a ruse to kidnap her. "I saw two people behind me," she recalled later. "With one hand, one grabbed me while the other pulled out a knife and held it close to my body. 'If you cry, you'll die,' he told me. Follow us.” The girl was sold as a slave after a forced march. She was given an Arabic name that ironically meant, "The Lucky One."

Although the title was originally meant to be sarcastic, it reflected the girl's outlook on life. In the following years, she embraced the name wholeheartedly. Upon her release, she expressed gratitude for the positive outcomes that arose from her hardships. "If I met the kidnappers and torturers," she wrote, "I would kneel and kiss their hands. I would not be a Christian and religious today without this suffering."

Loving Our Enemies

The girl's name is Saint Bakhita—a Saint for those who are "prisoners of the past." She heroically displayed the Christian virtue of forgiveness, especially to her enemies—those who had persecuted her and caused irreparable damage to her life.

As I read the gospel for today, the same question kept coming to mind: "What does it look like to love our enemies in these times?" We are in the middle of another presidential election cycle, and political polarization is clearly evident in this country. We find it hard to agree even in small ways, and every instance of disagreement is a reason to tune out or even demonize the person who opposes us.

And yet, Jesus' call in this gospel is clear. We are not called to ignore our enemies. We're not called to build an echo chamber where we only hear from like-minded individuals. People today seem to think that if they disagree with someone, that person is wrong and their opinion should be shouted down, or the person simply disliked because of their opinion.

Love Like Jesus

I remember reading a beautiful reflection entitled "To Go More than a Mile." The author said:

"To love as Jesus does is to do the extra, to go 'more than a mile' (Mt. 5:41), to go beyond our ordinary human transactions. To love your friends is not going above and beyond. To reciprocate the kindness you have received is not going the extra mile. Working for your salary is not excessive. Giving to receive honor, praise, or promotion is not going the extra mile. All these—friendship, salary, honor, praise, and promotion—are the ordinary human grounds for transaction; everybody, even pagans, relates themselves within this familiar ground.

Christ challenged us to go across the familiar ground and explore the unfamiliar, the unknown. To love those who are unlovable is 'extra.' To give to those who cannot give in return is 'more.' To serve those who cannot serve in return is 'beyond.' To forgive even your enemy is 'extra.' To explore the unfamiliar ground with Christ's love is going more than a mile. Only the extra-miler deserves the name 'Christian.'"

• Today’s Readings

• Father Boby's inspirational homily was recorded live during Mass at the Father Peyton Center this morning. You can view the Mass (and Rosary) on the Family Rosary YouTube page. 

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