Lent gives us a special time to be keenly aware of our sins and our own selfishness. Jesus' challenge in the Gospel is not to stop doing righteous deeds or prayer altogether, but to do them for the good of others and the glory of God regardless if they will be seen or not by others. As you begin your Lenten journey and practice, measure it against the standard of how it will be good for others, not just yourself.

Living the commandment to love our enemies is probably the hardest thing we can do. Simply put, we cannot do this without the supernatural grace of God. Remember that "love" is not the same as “like.” Loving someone is willing good for the other, while liking someone is a much more subjective thing. You don’t have to like everyone, but you must love them.
This commandment is not a suggestion. It’s just the hardest thing to do. So, let us pray for the supernatural grace to love our enemies. Period.

The vocation to marriage calls an individual to imitate God’s love by dedicating oneself to service for their spouse and to be open to the children conceived from their love. In this covenant of love, husbands and wives strive to live out the promise to love as God loves in a particular way, by giving of each other without condition. Through the highs and lows, the ecstasies and crucibles of marriage, each spouse’s vocation is to help the other become more of what God desires for them.

Humility is knowing who we are as God has created us; knowing our true place in life, not more and not less. We are meant to recognize our God-given talents and tend those gifts to the best of our ability, not for the sake of ourselves but for God and others. To be ultimately motivated for our own sake is arrogance, empty, and vain. Our struggle is that we are prone to slip into the two extremes: “I’m pond scum” and “not worthy to be alive” or “I am the greatest” and “I know more about things than anyone else.” A truly faithful, humble life is one that gives ourselves away, to forget out our narcissistic ideations, and simply serve others without ulterior motives.

In the end, the Beatitudes are really about God’s love for us, hidden in the cross; God waiting for us in the difficult places. It’s not easy to trust that, to surrender to that. If you haven't yet, pray the Surrender Novena; there's strength and courage in that prayer, a peace that the world cannot give. All of us have those hard places in our life, places that are out of control, ugly, sad, hurting; places that we wish were different. Those places aren’t a barrier to God’s love. Because of what Jesus has done, God now waits for us there.

Borrowing heavily from the book Managing from the Heart, Fr. Bill offers these five principles when engaging with others, as we commit to and work towards greater unity:
1. Hear and understand me
2. Even if you disagree, don’t steamroll me
3. Acknowledge the greatness within me
4. Remember to look for my loving intention
5. Tell me the truth with compassion

During this Ordinary Time, when you leave church after Mass, share your faith. Bring God into your conversations. Be an agent of Christ and his Church in the world in the small moments, even those perceived as insignificant. It is in these seemingly small, ordinary encounters in which Grace abounds.
 
Videos referenced in homily  —  "Newhart" final scene  |  Bob Newhart on "Newhart" finale

Darkness is everywhere. Sometimes it comes from evil actors or outside forces; sometimes it comes from us. But, as baptized Catholic Christians, do not lose sight of the good things born of God’s amazing grace which abound everywhere. His light has been entrusted to you by virtue of your baptism, and you are called to be a light unto the nations.
When you watch the news, pray for every news item, for the victims and the perpetrators of crimes. Give to those in need instead of buying something for yourself. Pray for healing and reconciliation where there are divisions. Strike up a conversation with someone who is struggling. In ways both big and small, you can be a light that overcomes the darkness.