Hello everyone! Heyo! Welcome back to Scattering Flowers with Elise and Miles, a podcast where you read the daily Gospels and the Saint of the Day.
Let’s get started! Today is Thursday, September 11th, and the Gospel reading is Luke 6, 27-38, and the scripture to reflect on is Luke 6, 27.
But I say to you, that here, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you.
I’m going to say a few words.
For each word, you can say out loud and think to yourself an opposite.
So if I say happy, you might say sad.
But if I say big, small.
If I say tall, short.
If I say up, down.
If I say stop, go.
And lastly, if I say love, hate.
It is easy to love people who show love to us, but what about people who show hate to us?
Jesus wants us to love them too.
Jesus wants us to love everyone.
You might think, why should I be nice to someone who is mean to me?
Well, here’s why.
Have you ever done anything wrong before, or made a mistake?
Or maybe told a lie, or hurt someone’s feelings on purpose?
Even though you have made mistakes before, your parents still love you.
Your siblings love you, and Jesus still loves you.
Today’s saint of the day is Saint Jean-Gabriel Perebois.
He was born January 6, 1802, and died September 11, 1839.
He’s the patron saint of China.
Saint Jean-Gabriel was born in France, and was one of eight children, including Jean-Gabriel, five of the children took religious orders, three priests, and two nuns.
Jean-Gabriel went with his younger brother Louis while he was entering the seminary, and he too entered seminary at the young age of 16.
He was ordained at the age of 23 and taught theology, and later master of novices in Paris.
His younger brother Louis died on the way to preach in China at the age of 24, and Jean-Gabriel asked to carry out the mission that had been entrusted to his brother.
He converted many people in a short time, and he spent there.
On September 11, 1839, Jean-Gabriel became one of the first victims of the persecutions against Christians.
He was betrayed for a sum of silver, stripped of his garments, beaten, and tortured.
Jean-Gabriel was crucified and died on the cross.
When someone makes a mistake, we should still love them.
How can you show love to those who are mean to you?
Jesus wants us to love everyone, even the people who are mean to us, even if it’s hard.
Jean-Gabriel Perebois is known as the first Catholic missionary to China.
Are there ways that we can share God’s love to others like missionaries do?
We can live to be an example of Christ.
Let’s pray.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Dear God, help us to love those who hate us, even if it’s not the easiest thing to do.
Give us the grace we need to live out our faith.
And help me to have courage to share the truth about others, even if it seems hard.
Saint Jean-Gabriel Perebois, pray for us.
Amen.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Thank you so much for listening.
We’ll be back tomorrow, scattering more flowers.
See ya!