Daily Catholic Lectio
Mon, 16 June 2025
Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time – Monday
2 Corinthians 6:1–10. Matthew 5:38–42
Mercy and Nonviolence
“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, do not resist an evildoer.”
In the time of the great emperor Hammurabi, a legal principle emerged: “Retributive justice” — a system where punishment mirrors the offense. Though this ensured legal limits to vengeance, it also carried violence at its core. If someone took out my eye, I was legally entitled to take out theirs. This way, I upheld my sense of justice by doing to others what was done to me.
This same approach was reflected in the Mosaic Law:
“Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe… life for life. Show no mercy” (cf. Ex 21:23–25; Lev 24:1–20; Deut 19:21).
But Jesus breaks this cycle. He introduces a new way to confront evil—not with retaliation, but with mercy, patience, and generosity. He fulfils the Law through forgiveness, surrender, and love for enemies.
Jesus, the face of the Father’s mercy, completes the law of vengeance with the law of compassion (cf. Dives in Misericordia, 14). As Pope Benedict XVI wrote: “Christian morality is not about revenge, but about self-giving love.” Forgiveness, in fact, is the highest form of Christian prayer. Only through it can we be reconciled to God (Catechism of the Catholic Church, §2844).
Mahatma Gandhi once said: “An eye for an eye will leave the whole world blind.” We often seek revenge for the wrongs done to us, while simultaneously desiring forgiveness for the wrongs we’ve done to others. Yet mercy surpasses even justice. It is not an easy path—because the hurt others cause us keeps returning to memory.
When we offer the other cheek to the one who strikes us, we proclaim our dignity. When we give not only our tunic but our cloak, we expose our vulnerability so that the oppressor may be transformed. By walking the extra mile, we move beyond coercion to conscience.
In our homes, workplaces, and communities, when we are wronged, let us not react impulsively. Let us pause, reflect, and respond wisely. That moment of stillness is grace.
“The best revenge is to be unlike him who performed the injury” – Marcus Aurelius
“To repay evil with good is the noblest form of justice.” – Thirukkural 314
Let us strive for this nobility — the way of mercy and nonviolence.
Fr. Yesu Karunanidhi
Archdiocese of Madurai
Missionary of Mercy
Yesu Karunanidhi 
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