Saturday, June 4 : Silouan

God is love (1 Jn 4:8). He gave us the commandment to love one another and even our enemies. And it is the Holy Spirit who teaches us this love. Keep the peace of the Holy Spirit and never lose it for the sake of what is futile. If you hurt your brother, you are afflicting your own heart; if you make peace with your brother, the Lord will give you infinitely more… Didn’t the Lord himself say: “The reign of God is already in your midst.” (Lk 17:21) Eternal life begins now, and it is also now that we sow the seeds of eternal torment. I beg you, my brothers, prove it! If someone offends you, calumniates you, takes away something that belongs to you, and even if he is a persecutor of the holy Church, pray to God and say: “Lord, all of us are your creatures; have mercy on your servants and bring their heart to repentance.” Then you will feel grace in your soul. Certainly, in the beginning you have to make an effort to love your enemies; but the Lord, seeing your good will, will help you in everything, and the experience itself will show you the way. On the other hand, the person who cogitates bad things against his enemies cannot possess love and thus cannot know God.
maronite readings – rosary,team