February  20 Sunday 7C. God is kind to the ungrateful and the selfish. Be merciful even as your Father is merciful. The Marriage Enrichment group with Fr Andrew had been meeting regularly during this month as they had decided to make a special effort to work on their relationships knowing that many couples were experiencing difficulties. It had been a job to get some of the men to come but as they had got to know and trust each other they all valued the support they received.  George shared, “I’ve never quite understood why it is that we hurt the most those we love the most. I have never raised my hand to anyone at work, but yet……”  They all thought about this and Teresa commented, “Maybe it has something to do with intimacy not well understood. We are close in so many ways, but we can get also under one another’s skin, no matter how hard I try and how much I pray about it.”  Carmel added, “I hate to think what we were like before this programme. Were we really enemies?  That is what it felt like.”  Jack concluded, “I have learned that we need to respect each other and give each other space.  Our President wasn’t joking when he said the other day, ‘A woman is not your football!’” Becoming an eco-friendly family:  Be kind and not argumentative with someone you see littering.

Love your enemies and do good and lend, expecting nothing in return and your reward will be great and you will be sons of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the selfish. Be merciful even as your Father is merciful.  Luke 6:27-38.   Pope Francis.    Some families break up when spouses engage in mutual recrimination, but experience shows that with proper assistance and acts of reconciliation through grace a great percentage of troubled marriages find a solution. To know how to forgive and to feel forgiven is a basic experience in family life.  AL 236