( Evil + Evil ) / Christ = Love Love = God

First reading	Titus 3:1-7

It was purely by his own compassion that God saved us

Remind your people that it is their duty to be obedient to the officials and representatives of the government; to be ready to do good at every opportunity; not to go slandering other people or picking quarrels, but to be courteous and always polite to all kinds of people. Remember, there was a time when we too were ignorant, disobedient and misled and enslaved by different passions and luxuries; we lived then in wickedness and ill-will, hating each other and hateful ourselves.

  But when the kindness and love of God our Savior for mankind were revealed, it was not because he was concerned with any righteous actions we might have done ourselves; it was for no reason except his own compassion that he saved us, by means of the cleansing water of rebirth and by renewing us with the Holy Spirit which he has so generously poured over us through Jesus Christ our savior. He did this so that we should be justified by his grace, to become heirs looking forward to inheriting eternal life.

Can you imagine that?  Part of being a good Christian is to be a good citizen, to obey the officials and representatives of the government and to be ready to do good at every opportunity.  But what if you have a government that is evil such as the government that afflicted Germany in the first half of the twentieth century?  Do you obey them?  Do you sign up your sons into the youth organization that the government demanded?  Do you enroll your daughters as well into their sorority that promoted evil?  Do you go along with a government that preaches the need to eliminate a people solely because of their religion?  What about in our time.  Do we remain silent while the government mandates birth control, forcing The Sisters of Charity to become a distributor of birth control pills and devices?  Are we expected to agree with the notion of same-sex marriage? Paul, it would seem, has gotten it wrong. But, look at what his people were going through.  They were being rounded up and being tortured and killed for professing the Name of Jesus.  Was he blind, did he not see the evil that the Romans were doing to the Christians?  Of course, he saw what was going on. Yet, he was telling his people that so far as it is possible, obey those that are over you and be a good example as to what a citizen should be.  It was the turn the other cheek principle that we were to use.  We should not return evil for evil but rather show the good that can come out of being a follower of Christ. 

Please remember the Poor Souls in Purgatory today.  Remember that your next breath is not guaranteed and tomorrow might find you in close fellowship with some of those that you arr praying for today!