Tuesday, August 23 : Didache

There are two ways: a way of life and a way of death, and the difference between these two ways is great. The way of life is this: you shall love first the Lord your Creator, and secondly your neighbour as yourself; and you shall do nothing to anyone that you would not wish to be done to yourself. What you may learn from those words is to bless those who curse you, to pray for your enemies, and to fast for your persecutors. For where is the merit in loving only those who return your love? Even the heathen do as much as that. But if you love those who hate you, you will have nobody to be your enemy. Beware of the carnal appetites of the body… The second commandment in the teaching means: Commit no murder, adultery, sodomy, fornication, or theft. Practise no magic, sorcery, abortion, or infanticide. See that you do not covet anything your neighbour possesses, and never be guilty of perjury, false witness, slander, or malice. Do not equivocate in thought or speech, for a double tongue is a deadly snare; the words you speak should not be false or empty phrases, but fraught with purposeful action. You are not to be avaricious or extortionate, and you must resist any temptation to hypocrisy, spitefulness, or superiority. You are to have no malicious designs on a neighbour. You are to cherish no feelings of hatred for anybody; some you are to reprove, some to pray for, and some again to love more than your own life. Keep away from every bad man, my son, and from all his kind… Take care that nobody tempts you away from the path of this teaching, for such a man’s tuition can have nothing to do with God. If you can shoulder the lord’s yoke in its entirety, then you will be perfect; but if that is too much for you, do as much as you can. (Biblical references: Mt 22,37f; 7,12; Tb 4,15; Mt 5,44f; 1Pt 2,11; Ex 20; Mt 24,4)
maronite readings – rosary,team