Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, I’m truly grateful to be here to celebrate Mass here at St. Mark’s today, especially to invite you to join me in praying for Pope Francis’ health which, as you know, is precarious at best. Let’s keep him in our prayers asking for his healing and strength as he receives excellent medical care at Rome’s Gemelli Polyclinic Research Hospital. May the Lord bless him with health and peace.

Today’s readings invite us into the radical and often difficult call to love as God loves—to be merciful, to forgive, and to go beyond what seems reasonable in human terms. This is not an easy task, but it is at the heart of the Gospel. Mercy, as you recall was theme that Pope Francis often emphasized as we think of his motto from the call of St. Matthew: “He looked upon him with mercy and called (chose) him.” (miserando atque eligendo)

The challenge of love and mercy

Our first reading from 1 Samuel presents a dramatic moment between David and King Saul. Saul, who has been hunting David to kill him, is completely vulnerable in David’s hands. David’s companion urges him to take Saul’s life, seeing it as an act of justice, but David refuses. Instead, he chooses the difficult path of mercy, sparing Saul and entrusting justice to the Lord. This is not an easy choice! When we are wronged, our instincts often lead us toward resentment, anger, or revenge, yet David shows us another way—the way of trust in God and the power of mercy.

Today’s Psalm response echoes this truth beautifully: “The Lord is kind and merciful, slow to anger and rich in compassion.” This is the God we are called to imitate, a Father Who does not deal with us according to our sins but forgives and heals. We all have experienced times when we struggle to forgive—perhaps someone has deeply hurt us, betrayed our trust, or made our lives difficult. God, however, does not hold our sins against us; instead, He removes them “as far as the east is from the west.”

The New Adam and our call to love  

In the second reading, St. Paul speaks to the Corinthian Christian community and to us about two Adams: the first Adam at the beginning of creation, through whom we inherit our human weaknesses from his disobedience to God, and the second Adam—Christ—Who restores us to new life. We often struggle to love because we carry the wounds of our human nature, the result of original sin. We are tempted to be selfish, to return hurt for hurt, and to seek our own interests, but Christ came to transform us! Through Him, we are given a new identity, one shaped not by our fallen nature but by His perfect love.

We are called to live differently, not according to worldly standards of self-interest and vengeance, but according to divine mercy and grace. 

Loving our enemies: The heart of the Gospel  

Jesus takes this teaching a step further in our Gospel today. He does not simply tell us to love those who love us; rather, He commands us to love our enemies, to bless those who curse us, to do good to those who hate us. If we’re honest, this is one of the hardest teachings of Christ. It’s difficult enough to love our friends and family well, but to love those who hurt us? That feels almost impossible! And yet, this is exactly what Christ did on the Cross. He did not return violence for violence, but instead prayed, “Father, forgive them.” 

Jesus challenges us to live generously, not counting the cost, not keeping score. “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” He calls us beyond a world of mere justice into a world of divine grace. This is not a naïve or weak love, but it is the strongest love possible, a love that can change hearts and heal wounds, even in the midst of adversity.

Practical steps to living this love

So how can we actually live this teaching in our daily lives? Here are a few steps:

1. Pray for the grace to forgive. If you are struggling to love someone, start with prayer. Ask God to soften your heart and help you see that person as He sees them.

2. Choose small acts of mercy. You may not be in a life-or-death situation like David and Saul. Nevertheless, every day, we encounter people who frustrate us. Instead of reacting in anger, choose patience, kindness, or a simple act of generosity.

3. Let go of resentment. Holding onto anger weighs us down. It eats at every fiber of our being. Hand over your hurts to God and ask for healing.

4. Remember God’s mercy toward you. The more we recognize how much God has forgiven us, the easier it becomes to extend that mercy to others.

Loving as Christ loves is never easy, but it is the only way to true peace and joy. When we embrace His mercy, we become free—free from bitterness, free from hatred, free to live in the light of God’s love. May we strive to be merciful as our Father is merciful, trusting that His grace will strengthen us in this journey. As we pray for our own growth in love, let us also lift up Pope Francis, asking the Lord to grant him healing and renewed strength.

In my previous assignment, there was a priest who was ordained later in life. He had been in marketing for years. He believed that as a priest he had the best product to market – faith in Christ. He made this beautiful observation that has helped me provide some context to life situations. He said, “You notice that when you drive a car, the windshield is bigger than the rearview mirror.  If you are constantly looking in the rearview mirror, you’ll never go ahead. The windshield is bigger so we can see a bigger picture of what’s ahead for us.” That’s the direction we are heading with Christ.  

Soon it will be Lent: a time to do a spiritual check-up and look at ways we can transform our lives and ask ourselves how we are progressing. As Christians, we have a way of looking at the world – a way of living that sets us apart. At times, we mess it up, and so much so that we need to rely on Our Lady the Undoer of Knots to help us out. But the mercy of God has always been even greater. As Pope St. John Paul II noted, “We are not the sum of our failures.” The greatness of God’s grace poured out in our hearts and souls gives us an immense dignity and worth – and so it is with everyone else we encounter. May God bless us all as we seek to love as He loves. Amen.