DAILY HOMILIES #neighbours

As part of our Christmas celebrations, the story of John the Beloved draws us to open our hearts to love Jesus as a friend and brother. It is not enough that we eat rice and chicken to celebrate Jesus’s birth; we must have personal relationships with Jesus. You, too, can become Jesus’ best friend today.

The first and greatest commandment is also intricately connected to the second commandment: “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” Of course, as St. John says: “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.” (1 John 4:20).

We are a mysterious people. We always forgive those who hurt us. We turn the other cheek when someone slaps us on one side. We let others have their way and we pray for God’s blessings rather than heap curses on our haters. (Cf. Matthew 5:38-39). This is how we melt the hearts of our enemies. This is the principle that has made our religion spread all over the world and continue to grow in leaps and bounds.

When we are proud, we have only one life goal; to outshine others. We never have peace of mind because when the ego is in charge of our lives, we are constantly under threat. We are never satisfied with what is ours. Whatever progress anyone makes becomes a problem to us because as soon we know about it, we refuse to sleep until we achieve something greater. Nothing frightens us more than the laughter of others so we live basically to please people and as a result, despite all that we show to the world, there is always this feeling of emptiness within us.