Gospel (Lk 6,27-38) - At that time, Jesus said to his disciples: «To you who listen, I say: love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who treat you badly. To him who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; from anyone who takes your cloak, don't even refuse your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and to anyone who takes your things, do not ask for them back. And as you want men to do to you, so do you also to them. If you love those who love you, what gratitude is due to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what gratitude is due to you? Even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what gratitude is due to you? Even sinners lend to sinners to receive the same. Instead, love your enemies, do good and lend without expecting anything from it, and your reward will be great and you will be children of the Most High, because he is benevolent towards the ungrateful and the wicked. »Be merciful, as your Father is merciful. Do not judge and you will not be judged; do not condemn and you will not be condemned; forgive and you will be forgiven. Give and it will be given to you: a good measure, pressed down, full and running over, will be poured into your lap, because with the measure with which you measure, it will be measured to you in return."

The commentary on the Gospel by Monsignor Vincenzo Paglia

In this second part of the Beatitudes according to Luke, Jesus speaks to everyone, "to you who listen", that is, to that multitude of poor, sick people who have come from all parts (Lk 6:17-19). No one is excluded from the Gospel, from the path of salvation, of happiness that Jesus indicates. He begins by pronouncing words never said by anyone: "Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you." It is an exhortation truly foreign to the culture of this world and, for this reason, it is often mocked. Someone perhaps suggests that these are beautiful but unrealistic words. Yet, only in these words can the world find salvation, only in this perspective can we find reasons to stop wars and, above all, the impulse to build peace and coexistence between men and peoples. For Jesus there are no longer enemies to hate and fight. The ideal that Jesus presents to those who listen to him is as high as Heaven, to the point of saying: "Be merciful, as your Father is merciful". It's not a moral exhortation, it's a lifestyle. Our very salvation depends on this. He then adds what is called the “golden rule”: «And as you want men to do to you, so do you also to them». This "rule" is present in all religions and we can truly consider it as a "golden" thread that deeply binds relationships between men and peoples.