Memorial of Saint Maximilian Kolbe, Priest and Martyr
Lectionary: 416
Lectionary: 416
The word of the
LORD came to me:
Son of man, you live in the midst of a rebellious house;
they have eyes to see but do not see,
and ears to hear but do not hear,
for they are a rebellious house.
Now, son of man, during the day while they are looking on,
prepare your baggage as though for exile,
and again while they are looking on,
migrate from where you live to another place;
perhaps they will see that they are a rebellious house.
You shall bring out your baggage like an exile in the daytime
while they are looking on;
in the evening, again while they are looking on,
you shall go out like one of those driven into exile;
while they look on, dig a hole in the wall and pass through it;
while they look on, shoulder the burden and set out in the darkness;
cover your face that you may not see the land,
for I have made you a sign for the house of Israel.
I did as I was told.
During the day I brought out my baggage
as though it were that of an exile,
and at evening I dug a hole through the wall with my hand
and, while they looked on, set out in the darkness,
shouldering my burden.
Then, in the morning, the word of the LORD came to me:
Son of man, did not the house of Israel, that rebellious house,
ask you what you were doing?
Tell them: Thus says the Lord GOD:
This oracle concerns Jerusalem
and the whole house of Israel within it.
I am a sign for you:
as I have done, so shall it be done to them;
as captives they shall go into exile.
The prince who is among them shall shoulder his burden
and set out in darkness,
going through a hole he has dug out in the wall,
and covering his face lest he be seen by anyone.
Son of man, you live in the midst of a rebellious house;
they have eyes to see but do not see,
and ears to hear but do not hear,
for they are a rebellious house.
Now, son of man, during the day while they are looking on,
prepare your baggage as though for exile,
and again while they are looking on,
migrate from where you live to another place;
perhaps they will see that they are a rebellious house.
You shall bring out your baggage like an exile in the daytime
while they are looking on;
in the evening, again while they are looking on,
you shall go out like one of those driven into exile;
while they look on, dig a hole in the wall and pass through it;
while they look on, shoulder the burden and set out in the darkness;
cover your face that you may not see the land,
for I have made you a sign for the house of Israel.
I did as I was told.
During the day I brought out my baggage
as though it were that of an exile,
and at evening I dug a hole through the wall with my hand
and, while they looked on, set out in the darkness,
shouldering my burden.
Then, in the morning, the word of the LORD came to me:
Son of man, did not the house of Israel, that rebellious house,
ask you what you were doing?
Tell them: Thus says the Lord GOD:
This oracle concerns Jerusalem
and the whole house of Israel within it.
I am a sign for you:
as I have done, so shall it be done to them;
as captives they shall go into exile.
The prince who is among them shall shoulder his burden
and set out in darkness,
going through a hole he has dug out in the wall,
and covering his face lest he be seen by anyone.
Responsorial Psalm PS 78:56-57, 58-59, 61-62
R. (see 7b) Do not forget the works of the Lord!
They tempted and rebelled against God the Most High,
and kept not his decrees.
They turned back and were faithless like their fathers;
they recoiled like a treacherous bow.
R. Do not forget the works of the Lord!
They angered him with their high places
and with their idols roused his jealousy.
God heard and was enraged
and utterly rejected Israel.
R. Do not forget the works of the Lord!
And he surrendered his strength into captivity,
his glory in the hands of the foe.
He abandoned his people to the sword
and was enraged against his inheritance.
R. Do not forget the works of the Lord!
They tempted and rebelled against God the Most High,
and kept not his decrees.
They turned back and were faithless like their fathers;
they recoiled like a treacherous bow.
R. Do not forget the works of the Lord!
They angered him with their high places
and with their idols roused his jealousy.
God heard and was enraged
and utterly rejected Israel.
R. Do not forget the works of the Lord!
And he surrendered his strength into captivity,
his glory in the hands of the foe.
He abandoned his people to the sword
and was enraged against his inheritance.
R. Do not forget the works of the Lord!
Gospel MT 18:21-19:1
Peter approached
Jesus and asked him,
“Lord, if my brother sins against me,
how often must I forgive him?
As many as seven times?”
Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.
That is why the Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king
who decided to settle accounts with his servants.
When he began the accounting,
a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount.
Since he had no way of paying it back,
his master ordered him to be sold,
along with his wife, his children, and all his property,
in payment of the debt.
At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said,
‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.’
Moved with compassion the master of that servant
let him go and forgave him the loan.
When that servant had left, he found one of his fellow servants
who owed him a much smaller amount.
He seized him and started to choke him, demanding,
‘Pay back what you owe.’
Falling to his knees, his fellow servant begged him,
‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’
But he refused.
Instead, he had the fellow servant put in prison
until he paid back the debt.
Now when his fellow servants saw what had happened,
they were deeply disturbed,
and went to their master and reported the whole affair.
His master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant!
I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to.
Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant,
as I had pity on you?’
Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers
until he should pay back the whole debt.
So will my heavenly Father do to you,
unless each of you forgives his brother from his heart.”
When Jesus finished these words, he left Galilee
and went to the district of Judea across the Jordan.
“Lord, if my brother sins against me,
how often must I forgive him?
As many as seven times?”
Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.
That is why the Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king
who decided to settle accounts with his servants.
When he began the accounting,
a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount.
Since he had no way of paying it back,
his master ordered him to be sold,
along with his wife, his children, and all his property,
in payment of the debt.
At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said,
‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.’
Moved with compassion the master of that servant
let him go and forgave him the loan.
When that servant had left, he found one of his fellow servants
who owed him a much smaller amount.
He seized him and started to choke him, demanding,
‘Pay back what you owe.’
Falling to his knees, his fellow servant begged him,
‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’
But he refused.
Instead, he had the fellow servant put in prison
until he paid back the debt.
Now when his fellow servants saw what had happened,
they were deeply disturbed,
and went to their master and reported the whole affair.
His master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant!
I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to.
Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant,
as I had pity on you?’
Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers
until he should pay back the whole debt.
So will my heavenly Father do to you,
unless each of you forgives his brother from his heart.”
When Jesus finished these words, he left Galilee
and went to the district of Judea across the Jordan.
Meditation: "Lord, how often shall I forgive
my brother?"
Does mercy trump justice? Justice demands that everyone be given
their due. So when is it right to show mercy and pardon to those who have acted
unjustly or wrongly? The prophet Amos speaks of God forgiving transgression
three times, but warns that God may not revoke punishment for the fourth (see
Amos 1:3-13; 2:1-6). When Peter posed the question of forgiveness, he characteristically
offered an answer he thought Jesus would be pleased with. Why not forgive seven
times! How unthinkable for Jesus to counter with the proposition that one must
forgive seventy times that.
No limit to granting forgiveness and pardon
Jesus makes it clear that there is no limit to forgiveness. He drove the lesson home with a parable about two very different kinds of debts. The first man owed an enormous sum of money - millions in our currency. In Jesus' time this amount was greater than the total revenue of a province - more than it would cost to ransom a king! The man who was forgiven such an incredible debt could not, however, bring himself to forgive his neighbor a very small debt which was about one-hundred-thousandth of his own debt.The contrast could not have been greater!
Jesus makes it clear that there is no limit to forgiveness. He drove the lesson home with a parable about two very different kinds of debts. The first man owed an enormous sum of money - millions in our currency. In Jesus' time this amount was greater than the total revenue of a province - more than it would cost to ransom a king! The man who was forgiven such an incredible debt could not, however, bring himself to forgive his neighbor a very small debt which was about one-hundred-thousandth of his own debt.The contrast could not have been greater!
Jesus paid our ransom to set us free from the debt of sin
No offense our neighbor can do to us can compare with our own personal debt to God for offending him! We have been forgiven an enormous debt we could not repay on our own. That is why the Father in heaven sent his only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who freely and willing gave up his life for our sake to ransom us from slavery to sin, Satan, and death. Paul the Apostle states, "you were bought with a price" (1 Corinthians 7:23 ) and that price was Jesus' death on the cross. Through the shedding of his blood on the cross, Jesus not only brought forgiveness and pardon for our offenses, but release from our captivity to Satan and bondage to sin.
No offense our neighbor can do to us can compare with our own personal debt to God for offending him! We have been forgiven an enormous debt we could not repay on our own. That is why the Father in heaven sent his only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who freely and willing gave up his life for our sake to ransom us from slavery to sin, Satan, and death. Paul the Apostle states, "you were bought with a price" (1 Corinthians 7:23 ) and that price was Jesus' death on the cross. Through the shedding of his blood on the cross, Jesus not only brought forgiveness and pardon for our offenses, but release from our captivity to Satan and bondage to sin.
Set free from futile thinking and sinful living
The Lord Jesus sets us free from a futile mind and way of living in sin and spiritual darkness. "You were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your fathers ...with the precious blood of Christ" (1 Peter 1:18). Christ "gave himself to redeem us from all iniquity" (Titus 2:14). Iniquity describes the futile ways of wrong thinking, sinful attitudes and wrong behavior, and disregarding or treating God's commandments lightly. We have been forgiven an enormous debt which we could never possibly repay. We owe God a debt of gratitude for the mercy and grace he has given us in his Son, Jesus Christ.
The Lord Jesus sets us free from a futile mind and way of living in sin and spiritual darkness. "You were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your fathers ...with the precious blood of Christ" (1 Peter 1:18). Christ "gave himself to redeem us from all iniquity" (Titus 2:14). Iniquity describes the futile ways of wrong thinking, sinful attitudes and wrong behavior, and disregarding or treating God's commandments lightly. We have been forgiven an enormous debt which we could never possibly repay. We owe God a debt of gratitude for the mercy and grace he has given us in his Son, Jesus Christ.
Forgiving others is a sacred duty
If God has shown mercy to us in granting us pardon for our sins, then we, in turn, must show mercy and forgiveness towards every person who has offended us. The willingness to forgive those who offend us is a sacred duty. If we expect God to pardon us and show us his mercy when we sin and disobey his commandments, then we must be willing to let go of any resentment, grievance, or ill-will we feel towards our neighbor. Jesus teaches us to pray daily for the grace and strength to forgive others in the same measure in which God has forgiven us (Matthew 6:12,14-15). If we do show mercy and forgiveness to our fellow human beings, how can we expect God to forgive us in turn? The Apostle James says that "judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy" (James 2:13).
If God has shown mercy to us in granting us pardon for our sins, then we, in turn, must show mercy and forgiveness towards every person who has offended us. The willingness to forgive those who offend us is a sacred duty. If we expect God to pardon us and show us his mercy when we sin and disobey his commandments, then we must be willing to let go of any resentment, grievance, or ill-will we feel towards our neighbor. Jesus teaches us to pray daily for the grace and strength to forgive others in the same measure in which God has forgiven us (Matthew 6:12,14-15). If we do show mercy and forgiveness to our fellow human beings, how can we expect God to forgive us in turn? The Apostle James says that "judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy" (James 2:13).
Mercy seasons justice and perfects it
Mercy is the flip-side of God's justice. Without mercy justice is cold, calculating, and even cruel. Mercy seasons justice as salt seasons meat and gives it flavor. Mercy follows justice and perfects it. Justice demands that the wrong be addressed. To show mercy without addressing the wrong and to pardon the unrepentant is not true mercy but license. C.S. Lewis, a 20th century Christian author wrote: "Mercy will flower only when it grows in the crannies of the rock of Justice: transplanted to the marshlands of mere Humanitarianism, it becomes a man-eating weed, all the more dangerous because it is still called by the same name as the mountain variety." If we want mercy shown to us we must be ready to forgive others from the heart as God has forgiven us. Do you hold any grudge or resentment towards anyone? Ask the Lord to purify your heart that you may show mercy and loving-kindness to all - and especially to those who cause you grief and ill-will.
Mercy is the flip-side of God's justice. Without mercy justice is cold, calculating, and even cruel. Mercy seasons justice as salt seasons meat and gives it flavor. Mercy follows justice and perfects it. Justice demands that the wrong be addressed. To show mercy without addressing the wrong and to pardon the unrepentant is not true mercy but license. C.S. Lewis, a 20th century Christian author wrote: "Mercy will flower only when it grows in the crannies of the rock of Justice: transplanted to the marshlands of mere Humanitarianism, it becomes a man-eating weed, all the more dangerous because it is still called by the same name as the mountain variety." If we want mercy shown to us we must be ready to forgive others from the heart as God has forgiven us. Do you hold any grudge or resentment towards anyone? Ask the Lord to purify your heart that you may show mercy and loving-kindness to all - and especially to those who cause you grief and ill-will.
"Lord Jesus, you have been kind and forgiving towards me.
May I be merciful as you are merciful. Free me from all bitterness and
resentment that I may truly forgive from the heart those who have caused me
injury or grief."
|
Human Harshness vs. the Charity of a Saint
|
|
August 14, 2014. Memorial of Saint Maximilian Mary Kolbe,
priest and martyr
|
|
Matthew 18:21 - 19:1
Peter approached Jesus and asked him, "Lord, if my
brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven
times?" Jesus answered, "I say to you, not seven times but
seventy-seven times. That is why the Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a
king who decided to settle accounts with his servants. When he began the
accounting, a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount. Since
he had no way of paying it back, his master ordered him to be sold, along
with his wife, his children, and all his property, in payment of the debt. At
that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said, ´Be patient with me,
and I will pay you back in full.´ Moved with compassion the master of that
servant let him go and forgave him the loan. When that servant had left, he
found one of his fellow servants who owed him a much smaller amount. He
seized him and started to choke him, demanding, ´Pay back what you owe.´
Falling to his knees, his fellow servant begged him, ´Be patient with me, and
I will pay you back.´ But he refused. Instead, he had him put in prison until
he paid back the debt. Now when his fellow servants saw what had happened,
they were deeply disturbed, and went to their master and reported the whole
affair. His master summoned him and said to him, ´You wicked servant! I
forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to. Should you not have
had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?´ Then in anger his
master handed him over to the torturers until he should pay back the whole
debt. So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgives his
brother from his heart." When Jesus finished these words, he left
Galilee and went to the district of Judea across the Jordan.
Introductory Prayer: Lord God, I believe you are present here with me as I
begin this moment of prayer. I hope in you. I know that you will always take
care of me. I want this time with you to be a sign of my love for you. I seek
only to please you, without desiring any spiritual consolation for myself.
Petition: Lord, grant me a more forgiving heart!
1. Human Harshness: “He seized him and started to choke him, demanding, ‘Pay
back what you owe.’” The Gospel gives a startling example of human harshness.
History recalls another one. In Auschwitz, the camp deputy commander, Karl
Fritzch, decided that the most effective way to keep prisoners from trying to
escape would be an overwhelming example of reprisal. Ten men in Block 13 were
picked out for starvation. The thought of innocent men dying because of
another’s escape would definitely make anyone think twice about it. The
master of our Lord’s story is angry at the harshness of his servant. We can
only imagine the Lord’s anger at the harshness of a place like Auschwitz,
called by Pope-Emeritus Benedict, “a place of horror” and “unprecedented mass
crimes” (May 28, 2006). Let us purge our own hearts of the evil of
harshness, which brings down such misery on our own soul.
2. St. Maximilian Steps Forward: The Lord’s answer
to Peter in this Gospel, “not seven times but seventy-seven times,” points to
a heroic living of the virtue of charity and forgiveness. St. Maximilian
Kolbe gives us an example of that kind of love. When the commander had picked
out his ten victims, St. Maximilian had been passed over. No doubt the others
who were spared were breathing intense sighs of relief. Instead, St.
Maximilian stepped forward and offered to take the place of one of those
chosen, Franciszek Gajowniczek, who cried out in anguish over his family. We
can only shake our heads in amazement that the flame of love could burn so
brightly in that “place of horror.”
3. The Cross Sets the Standard: The examples of the
saints challenge us. They don’t give us a “superhuman” example, but rather
the testimony of what men and women are capable of doing when they allow the
grace of God to work in their souls. We, too, have many occasions when we are
called to live a higher degree of virtue, but so often we cut ourselves a
little too much slack. When Peter asked about a seven-fold forgiveness, he
was being quite generous. But the “seventy-seven times” that Jesus speaks
about is measured against the Cross, the symbol of the Lord’s infinite love
and forgiveness. Saints like Kolbe understood this. Let’s try to imitate it
today, in ways both big and small.
Conversation with Christ: Lord Jesus, I can only be amazed at
your work through the soul of St. Maximilian Kolbe. You enabled him to lay
down his life for another, in imitation of your own self-sacrificing love.
Help me to embrace the same path of love and forgiveness.
Resolution: I will immediately forgive any wrongs I suffer today,
and I will try to sacrifice myself in a hidden way for someone else.
By Father Steven Reilly, LC
|
THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, MATTHEW 18:21--19:1
(Ezekiel 12:1-2; Psalm 78)
(Ezekiel 12:1-2; Psalm 78)
KEY VERSE: "Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?" (v 33).
READING: Jesus gave the Church the power to
exercise divine authority in his name. But this authority had to be tempered by
compassion. As a leader of the Christian community, Peter asked Jesus how often
he must forgive a fellow disciple. In the Old Testament, Lamech, a descendant
of Cain, exacted a "seventy-sevenfold" vengeance, or unlimited
retaliation for injury (Gn 4:23-24). The rabbis of Jesus' time taught that
forgiveness should be offered another person at least three times as it was
better to err on the side of mercy than judgment. Peter increased the number to
seven; however, Jesus said that Christian forgiveness must be infinite
("seventy-seven times"). Jesus illustrated this with a parable in
which a master forgave his servant a staggering debt. Yet the same servant
refused to forgive a much smaller amount owed by a fellow servant. When the
master heard this, he had his hardhearted servant punished until he agreed to
pay the debt. At the final judgment, God's compassion will be withheld from
those who have not forgiven the offenses of others.
REFLECTING: Who have I offended? Am I willing to ask their forgiveness?
PRAYING: Lord Jesus, grant me the grace to forgive those who have offended me.
REFLECTING: Who have I offended? Am I willing to ask their forgiveness?
PRAYING: Lord Jesus, grant me the grace to forgive those who have offended me.
Maximilian Kolbe, priest and martyr
Maximilian Kolbe was ordained in 1918 in Rome. He returned to Poland to teach history in the Crakow seminary. He founded a new monastery of Niepokalanow. By 1939 the monastery housed a religious community of nearly 800 men, the largest in the world in its day, and was completely self-sufficient including medical facilities. During World War II, Maximilian Kolbe and his brothers housed 3,000 Polish refugees, two-thirds of whom were Jewish. Their publications included materials considered anti-Nazi, and was shut down, the congregation suppressed, and the brothers dispersed. Maximilian was imprisoned in Warsaw, Poland. In May 1941 he was transferred to Auschwitz and branded as prisoner 16670. He was assigned to a special work group staffed by priests and supervised by especially abusive guards. His calm dedication to the faith brought him the worst jobs available, and more beatings than anyone else. In July 1941 there was an escape from the camp, and ten men were to be slaughtered in retribution for each escaped prisoner. Francis Gajowniczek, a married man with young children was one of the ten chosen to die. Maximilian volunteered to take his place, and died as he had always wished - in service of Jesus Christ.
Do not forget the works of the Lord!
‘... unless you each forgive your brother from your heart.’The king, moved by sorrow, forgives his servant a very large debt. That servant fails to forgive a fellow servant from the debt he owes. What a contrast of actions. Reactions flow first to the observers, then to the king when he receives reports of what has happened. The king’s forgiveness initially was whole-hearted. The servant’s lack of forgiveness was hard-hearted indeed. The king acted to reverse his decision. Those listening to Jesus relating this story and those reading about it centuries later all feel the same way about these happenings, I am sure. Forgiveness is at the heart of Jesus’ earthly mission. It is at the heart of our Christian faith. Lord, we pray for the grace of a forgiving heart.
MINUTE MEDITATIONS
Made in God’s Image
We are created by God. We are recreated into Christ’s image with
the hope and expectation that we will do good works, works that God prepared
for us beforehand. This is our vocation.
August
14
St. Maximilian Mary Kolbe
(1894-1941)
St. Maximilian Mary Kolbe
(1894-1941)
“I don’t know what’s going to become of you!” How many parents
have said that? Maximilian Mary Kolbe’s reaction was, “I prayed very hard to
Our Lady to tell me what would happen to me. She appeared, holding in her hands
two crowns, one white, one red. She asked if I would like to have them—one was
for purity, the other for martyrdom. I said, ‘I choose both.’ She smiled and
disappeared.” After that he was not the same.
He
entered the minor seminary of the Conventual Franciscans in Lvív (then Poland,
now Ukraine), near his birthplace, and at 16 became a novice. Though he later
achieved doctorates in philosophy and theology, he was deeply interested in
science, even drawing plans for rocket ships.
Ordained
at 24, he saw religious indifference as the deadliest poison of the day. His
mission was to combat it. He had already founded the Militia of the Immaculata,
whose aim was to fight evil with the witness of the good life, prayer, work and
suffering. He dreamed of and then founded Knight of the Immaculata, a
religious magazine under Mary’s protection to preach the Good News to all
nations. For the work of publication he established a “City of the
Immaculata”—Niepokalanow—which housed 700 of his Franciscan brothers. He later
founded one in Nagasaki, Japan. Both the Militia and the magazine ultimately
reached the one-million mark in members and subscribers. His love of God was
daily filtered through devotion to Mary.
In 1939
the Nazi panzers overran Poland with deadly speed. Niepokalanow was severely
bombed. Kolbe and his friars were arrested, then released in less than three
months, on the feast of the Immaculate Conception.
In 1941
he was arrested again. The Nazis’ purpose was to liquidate the select ones, the
leaders. The end came quickly, in Auschwitz three months later, after terrible
beatings and humiliations.
A
prisoner had escaped. The commandant announced that 10 men would die. He
relished walking along the ranks. “This one. That one.” As they were being
marched away to the starvation bunkers, Number 16670 dared to step from the
line. “I would like to take that man’s place. He has a wife and children.” “Who
are you?” “A priest.” No name, no mention of fame. Silence. The commandant,
dumbfounded, perhaps with a fleeting thought of history, kicked Sergeant Francis
Gajowniczek out of line and ordered Father Kolbe to go with the nine. In the
“block of death” they were ordered to strip naked, and their slow starvation
began in darkness. But there was no screaming—the prisoners sang. By the eve of
the Assumption four were left alive. The jailer came to finish Kolbe off as he
sat in a corner praying. He lifted his fleshless arm to receive the bite of the
hypodermic needle. It was filled with carbolic acid. They burned his body with
all the others. He was beatified in 1971 and canonized in 1982.
Comment:
Father Kolbe’s death was not a sudden, last-minute act of heroism. His whole life had been a preparation. His holiness was a limitless, passionate desire to convert the whole world to God. And his beloved Immaculata was his inspiration.
Father Kolbe’s death was not a sudden, last-minute act of heroism. His whole life had been a preparation. His holiness was a limitless, passionate desire to convert the whole world to God. And his beloved Immaculata was his inspiration.
Quote:
“Courage, my sons. Don’t you see that we are leaving on a mission? They pay our fare in the bargain. What a piece of good luck! The thing to do now is to pray well in order to win as many souls as possible. Let us, then, tell the Blessed Virgin that we are content, and that she can do with us anything she wishes” (Maximilian Mary Kolbe, when first arrested).
“Courage, my sons. Don’t you see that we are leaving on a mission? They pay our fare in the bargain. What a piece of good luck! The thing to do now is to pray well in order to win as many souls as possible. Let us, then, tell the Blessed Virgin that we are content, and that she can do with us anything she wishes” (Maximilian Mary Kolbe, when first arrested).
Patron Saint of:
Addicts
Drug addiction
Addicts
Drug addiction
LECTIO DIVINA:
MATTHEW 18,21-19,1
Lectio:
Thursday, August 14, 2014
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
Almighty and ever-living God,
your Spirit made us your children,
confident to call you Father.
Increase your Spirit within us
and bring us to our promised inheritance.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Almighty and ever-living God,
your Spirit made us your children,
confident to call you Father.
Increase your Spirit within us
and bring us to our promised inheritance.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - Matthew 18,21-19,1
Then Peter went up to Jesus and said, 'Lord, how often must I
forgive my brother if he wrongs me? As often as seven times?'
Jesus answered, 'Not seven, I tell you, but seventy-seven times.
'And so the kingdom of Heaven may be compared to a king who decided to settle his accounts with his servants. When the reckoning began, they brought him a man who owed ten thousand talents; he had no means of paying, so his master gave orders that he should be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions, to meet the debt. At this, the servant threw himself down at his master's feet, with the words, "Be patient with me and I will pay the whole sum." And the servant's master felt so sorry for him that he let him go and cancelled the debt.
Now as this servant went out, he happened to meet a fellow-servant who owed him one hundred denarii; and he seized him by the throat and began to throttle him, saying, "Pay what you owe me." His fellow-servant fell at his feet and appealed to him, saying, "Be patient with me and I will pay you." But the other would not agree; on the contrary, he had him thrown into prison till he should pay the debt.
His fellow-servants were deeply distressed when they saw what had happened, and they went to their master and reported the whole affair to him.
Then the master sent for the man and said to him, "You wicked servant, I cancelled all that debt of yours when you appealed to me. Were you not bound, then, to have pity on your fellow-servant just as I had pity on you?" And in his anger the master handed him over to the torturers till he should pay all his debt. And that is how my heavenly Father will deal with you unless you each forgive your brother from your heart.'
Jesus had now finished what he wanted to say, and he left Galilee and came into the territory of Judea on the far side of the Jordan.
Jesus answered, 'Not seven, I tell you, but seventy-seven times.
'And so the kingdom of Heaven may be compared to a king who decided to settle his accounts with his servants. When the reckoning began, they brought him a man who owed ten thousand talents; he had no means of paying, so his master gave orders that he should be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions, to meet the debt. At this, the servant threw himself down at his master's feet, with the words, "Be patient with me and I will pay the whole sum." And the servant's master felt so sorry for him that he let him go and cancelled the debt.
Now as this servant went out, he happened to meet a fellow-servant who owed him one hundred denarii; and he seized him by the throat and began to throttle him, saying, "Pay what you owe me." His fellow-servant fell at his feet and appealed to him, saying, "Be patient with me and I will pay you." But the other would not agree; on the contrary, he had him thrown into prison till he should pay the debt.
His fellow-servants were deeply distressed when they saw what had happened, and they went to their master and reported the whole affair to him.
Then the master sent for the man and said to him, "You wicked servant, I cancelled all that debt of yours when you appealed to me. Were you not bound, then, to have pity on your fellow-servant just as I had pity on you?" And in his anger the master handed him over to the torturers till he should pay all his debt. And that is how my heavenly Father will deal with you unless you each forgive your brother from your heart.'
Jesus had now finished what he wanted to say, and he left Galilee and came into the territory of Judea on the far side of the Jordan.
3) Reflection
• In yesterday’s Gospel we have heard the words of Jesus
concerning fraternal correction (Mt 18, 15-20). In the Gospel today (Mt 19,
21-39) the central theme is pardon and reconciliation.
• Matthew 18, 21-22: Forgive seventy times seven! Before the words of Jesus on fraternal correction and reconciliation, Peter asks: “How often must I forgive? Seven times?” Seven is a number which indicates perfection and, in the case of the proposal of Peter, seven is synonymous of always. But Jesus goes beyond. He eliminates all and whatever possible limitation there may be to pardon: “Not seven I tell you, but seventy-seven times”. It is as if he would say “Always, N0! Peter. But seventy times seven always!”. And this because there is no proportion between God’s love for us and our love for our brother. Here we recall the episode of the Old Testament of Lamech: “Lamech says to his wives, Adah and Zollah, hear my voice; listen to what I say: I killed a man for wounding me, a boy for striking me. Sevenfold vengeance for Cain, but seventy-sevenfold for Lamech” (Gn 4, 23-24). The task of the communities is to invert the process of the spiral of violence. In order to clarify his response to Peter, Jesus tells them the parable of pardon without limits.
• Matthew 18, 23-27: The attitude of the master. This parable is an allegory, that is, Jesus speaks about a master, but thinks of God. This explains the enormous contrasts of the parable. As we will see, in spite that it is a question of daily ordinary things, there is something in this story which does not take place in daily life. In the story which Jesus tells, the master follows the norms of the law or rights of that time. It was his right to take a labourer with all his family and to keep him in prison until he would have paid his debt carrying out his work as a slave. But before the request of the debtor servant, the master forgives the debt. What strikes us is the amount: ten thousand talents! One talent was equal to 35 kg, and so according to the estimate made, ten thousand talents were equal to 350 tons of gold. Even if the debtor and his family would have worked their whole life, they would never have been capable to earn 350 tons of gold. The extreme estimate is made on purpose. Our debt before God is countless and unpayable!
• Matthew 18, 28-31: The attitude of the labourer. As soon as he went out, that servant found a fellow servant as himself who owned him one hundred denarii and, he seized him by the throat and began to throttle him saying: Pay what you owe! This servant owed him one hundred denarii; that is the salary of one hundred days of work. Some have estimated that it was a question of 30 grams of gold. There was no comparison between the two! But this makes us understand the attitude of the labourer: God forgives him 350 tons of gold and he is not capable to forgive 30 grams of gold. Instead of forgiving, he does to the companion what the master could have done with him, but did not do it. He puts in prison his companion according to the norms of the law until he would have paid his debt. This is an inhuman attitude, which also strikes the other companions. Seeing what had happened, the other servants were sad and went to refer to their master everything which had happened. We also would have done the same; we would also have had the same attitude of disapproval.
• Matthew 18, 32-35: The attitude of God “Then the master called that man and said to him: “You wicked servant! I have forgiven you all your debt because you appealed to me. Were you not bound then to have pity on your fellow-servant just as I had pity on you? And, angry, the master handed him over to the torturers till he should pay all his debt“. Before God’s love who pardons gratuitously our debt of 350 tons of gold, it is more than fair, than just that we should forgive our brother who has a small debt of 30 grams of gold. God’s forgiveness is without any limit. The only limit for the gratuity of God’s mercy comes from ourselves, from our incapacity to forgive our brothers! (Mt 18, 34). This is what we say and ask for in the Our Father: “Forgive us our offences as we forgive those who offend us” (Mt 6, 12-15).
The community: an alternative space of solidarity and fraternity. The society of the Roman Empire was hard and heartless, without any space for the little ones. They sought some refuge for the heart and did not find it. The Synagogues were very demanding and did not offer a place for them. In the Christian communitie4s, the rigour of some concerning the observance of the Law in the daily life followed the same criteria as society and as the Synagogue. Thus, in the communities, the same divisions which existed in society and in the Synagogue, between rich and poor, dominion and submission, man and woman, race and religion, began to appear. The community instead of being a place of acceptance became a place of condemnation. By uniting the words of Jesus, Matthew wants to enlighten the journey of the followers of Jesus, in order that the communities may be an alternative place of solidarity and of fraternity. They should be Good News for the poor.
• Matthew 18, 21-22: Forgive seventy times seven! Before the words of Jesus on fraternal correction and reconciliation, Peter asks: “How often must I forgive? Seven times?” Seven is a number which indicates perfection and, in the case of the proposal of Peter, seven is synonymous of always. But Jesus goes beyond. He eliminates all and whatever possible limitation there may be to pardon: “Not seven I tell you, but seventy-seven times”. It is as if he would say “Always, N0! Peter. But seventy times seven always!”. And this because there is no proportion between God’s love for us and our love for our brother. Here we recall the episode of the Old Testament of Lamech: “Lamech says to his wives, Adah and Zollah, hear my voice; listen to what I say: I killed a man for wounding me, a boy for striking me. Sevenfold vengeance for Cain, but seventy-sevenfold for Lamech” (Gn 4, 23-24). The task of the communities is to invert the process of the spiral of violence. In order to clarify his response to Peter, Jesus tells them the parable of pardon without limits.
• Matthew 18, 23-27: The attitude of the master. This parable is an allegory, that is, Jesus speaks about a master, but thinks of God. This explains the enormous contrasts of the parable. As we will see, in spite that it is a question of daily ordinary things, there is something in this story which does not take place in daily life. In the story which Jesus tells, the master follows the norms of the law or rights of that time. It was his right to take a labourer with all his family and to keep him in prison until he would have paid his debt carrying out his work as a slave. But before the request of the debtor servant, the master forgives the debt. What strikes us is the amount: ten thousand talents! One talent was equal to 35 kg, and so according to the estimate made, ten thousand talents were equal to 350 tons of gold. Even if the debtor and his family would have worked their whole life, they would never have been capable to earn 350 tons of gold. The extreme estimate is made on purpose. Our debt before God is countless and unpayable!
• Matthew 18, 28-31: The attitude of the labourer. As soon as he went out, that servant found a fellow servant as himself who owned him one hundred denarii and, he seized him by the throat and began to throttle him saying: Pay what you owe! This servant owed him one hundred denarii; that is the salary of one hundred days of work. Some have estimated that it was a question of 30 grams of gold. There was no comparison between the two! But this makes us understand the attitude of the labourer: God forgives him 350 tons of gold and he is not capable to forgive 30 grams of gold. Instead of forgiving, he does to the companion what the master could have done with him, but did not do it. He puts in prison his companion according to the norms of the law until he would have paid his debt. This is an inhuman attitude, which also strikes the other companions. Seeing what had happened, the other servants were sad and went to refer to their master everything which had happened. We also would have done the same; we would also have had the same attitude of disapproval.
• Matthew 18, 32-35: The attitude of God “Then the master called that man and said to him: “You wicked servant! I have forgiven you all your debt because you appealed to me. Were you not bound then to have pity on your fellow-servant just as I had pity on you? And, angry, the master handed him over to the torturers till he should pay all his debt“. Before God’s love who pardons gratuitously our debt of 350 tons of gold, it is more than fair, than just that we should forgive our brother who has a small debt of 30 grams of gold. God’s forgiveness is without any limit. The only limit for the gratuity of God’s mercy comes from ourselves, from our incapacity to forgive our brothers! (Mt 18, 34). This is what we say and ask for in the Our Father: “Forgive us our offences as we forgive those who offend us” (Mt 6, 12-15).
The community: an alternative space of solidarity and fraternity. The society of the Roman Empire was hard and heartless, without any space for the little ones. They sought some refuge for the heart and did not find it. The Synagogues were very demanding and did not offer a place for them. In the Christian communitie4s, the rigour of some concerning the observance of the Law in the daily life followed the same criteria as society and as the Synagogue. Thus, in the communities, the same divisions which existed in society and in the Synagogue, between rich and poor, dominion and submission, man and woman, race and religion, began to appear. The community instead of being a place of acceptance became a place of condemnation. By uniting the words of Jesus, Matthew wants to enlighten the journey of the followers of Jesus, in order that the communities may be an alternative place of solidarity and of fraternity. They should be Good News for the poor.
4) Personal questions
• To forgive. There are people who say: “I forgive but I do not
forget!” And I? Am I capable to imitate God?
• Jesus gives us the example. At the time of death he asks pardon for his murderers (Lk 13, 34). Am I capable to imitate Jesus?
• Jesus gives us the example. At the time of death he asks pardon for his murderers (Lk 13, 34). Am I capable to imitate Jesus?
5) Concluding Prayer
From the rising of the sun to its setting,
praised be the name of Yahweh!
Supreme over all nations is Yahweh,
supreme over the heavens his glory. (Ps 113,3-4)
praised be the name of Yahweh!
Supreme over all nations is Yahweh,
supreme over the heavens his glory. (Ps 113,3-4)
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét