Twenty-fourth
Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 130
Reading 1
Wrath and anger are hateful things,
yet the sinner hugs them tight.
The vengeful will suffer the LORD’s vengeance,
for he remembers their sins in detail.
Forgive your neighbor’s injustice;
then when you pray, your own sins will be forgiven.
Could anyone nourish anger against another
and expect healing from the LORD?
Could anyone refuse mercy to another like himself,
can he seek pardon for his own sins?
If one who is but flesh cherishes wrath,
who will forgive his sins?
Remember your last days, set enmity aside;
remember death and decay, and cease from sin!
Think of the commandments, hate not your neighbor;
remember the Most High’s covenant, and overlook faults.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (8) The Lord is kind and merciful, slow to anger, and
rich in compassion.
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and all my being, bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful, slow to anger, and rich in
compassion.
He pardons all your iniquities,
heals all your ills.
He redeems your life from destruction,
crowns you with kindness and compassion.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful, slow to anger, and rich in
compassion.
He will not always chide,
nor does he keep his wrath forever.
Not according to our sins does he deal with us,
nor does he requite us according to our crimes.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful, slow to anger, and rich in
compassion.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so surpassing is his kindness toward those who fear him.
As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he put our transgressions from us.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful, slow to anger, and rich in
compassion.
Reading 2
Brothers and sisters:
None of us lives for oneself, and no one dies for oneself.
For if we live, we live for the Lord,
and if we die, we die for the Lord;
so then, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.
For this is why Christ died and came to life,
that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I give you a new commandment, says the Lord:
love one another as I have loved you.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Peter approached Jesus and asked him,
“Lord, if my brother sins against me,
how often must I forgive?
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 your brother from your heart.”
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/091320.cfm
Meditation: Lord,
How Often Shall I Forgive My Brother?
Does
mercy overlook 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 giving and receiving
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.
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.
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 not 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. Mercyseasons justice assalt 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.
Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: How
often shall I forgive? by Hilary of Poitiers (315-367 AD)
"When Peter asked him whether he should forgive his brother
sinning against him up to seven times, the Lord replied, 'Not up to seven times
but up to seventy times seven times'" In every way he teaches us to be
like him in humility and goodness. In weakening and breaking the impulses of
our rampant passions he strengthens us by the example of his leniency, by
granting us in faith pardon of all our sins. For the vices of our nature did
not merit pardon. Therefore all pardon comes from him. In fact, he pardons even
those sins that remain in one after confession. The penalty to be paid through
Cain was established at sevenfold, but that sin was against a man, against his
brother Abel, to the point of murder (Genesis 4:8). But in Lamech the penalty
was established at seventy times seven times (Genesis 4:24), and, as we
believe, the penalty was established on those responsible for the Lord's
Passion. But the Lord through the confession of believers grants pardon for
this crime. By the gift of baptism he grants the grace of salvation to his
revilers and persecutors. How much more is it necessary, he shows, that pardon
be returned by us without measure or number. And we should not think how many
times we forgive, but we should cease to be angry with those who sin against
us, as often as the occasion for anger exists. Pardon's frequency shows us that
in our case there is never a time for anger, since God pardons us for all sins
in their entirety by his gift rather than by our merit. Nor should we be
excused from the requirement of giving pardon that number of times [i.e.,
seventy times seven], since through the grace of the gospel God has granted us
pardon without measure." (excerpt from ON MATTHEW 18.10)
https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2020&date=sep13
TWENTY-FOURTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, MATTHEW 18:21-35
(Sirach 27:30 ̶ 28:7;
Psalm 103; Romans 14:7-9)
KEY VERSE: "[Peter asked] how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times" (vs. 21-22).
TO KNOW: Jesus shared his authority with his apostles (v. 18), but he told them that power must be tempered by mercy and forgiveness. As leader of the community, Peter asked how often he was required to forgive a fellow member. Peter though seven was a generous response. Jesus’ response to forgive someone "seventy-seven times" (490) must have amazed Peter. 490 is the numerical value of the biblical Hebrew word “tamim,” which means to “complete,” “perfect,” or “finished.” A person who can’t forgive will always live an imperfect, and incomplete life that’s lacks a true understanding that forgiveness must be unlimited. He illustrated this with a parable in which a master forgave his servant a staggering debt. Yet the same servant refused to forgive a fellow servant a much smaller amount owed him. When the master heard this, he had his hard-hearted servant tortured until he agreed to pay back the debt. Can we expect mercy at the final judgment if we have not forgiven the offenses of others?
TO LOVE: Who do I need to forgive today?
TO SERVE: Lord Jesus, you have forgiven my offenses. Grant me the grace to forgive others.
http://www.togetherwithgodsword.com/commentaries-on-the-daily-gospel-of-the-mass.html
Sunday 13 September 2020
24th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Ecclesiasticus 27:30 – 28:7. The Lord is kind and merciful; slow
to anger and rich in compassion – Psalm 102(103):1-4, 9-12. Romans 14:7-9.
Matthew 18:21-35.
‘Forgive your neighbour the hurt he does you; and when you pray,
your sins will be forgiven’
I couldn’t help but identify with the Big Little Lies character
Madeline Martha Mackenzie when she says ‘I love my grudges. I tend to them like
little pets’. Grudges can sometimes be comforting things to carry around. The
constant nurturing of our own hurts absolves us from acknowledging the hurt of
others. Yet, how far this attitude is from the theme of today’s readings.
‘Resentment and anger, these are foul things and both are found
with the sinner’ we are told in the first reading. ‘It is the Lord who forgives
our guilt, who heals our ills, who redeems our life from the grave and who
crowns us with love and compassion’, says the Psalm, while Jesus tells us we
must forgive ‘seventy-seven’ times. Instead of nursing our grudges, let us pray
for the courage to forgive, for it is in forgiving that we are forgiven.
Again, from Ecclesiasticus, ‘If a man nurses anger against another, can
he then demand compassion from the Lord?’
I pray Lord for compassion so I am worthy of your gifts of
forgiveness and compassion.
http://www.pray.com.au/gospel_reflection/sunday-13-september-2020/
Saint John Chrysostom
Saint of the Day for September 13
(c. 349 – September 14, 407)
Chrysostemos | Carl Christian Peters
Saint John Chrysostom’s Story
The ambiguity and intrigue surrounding John, the great preacher
(his name means “golden-mouthed”) from Antioch, are characteristic of the life
of any great man in a capital city. Brought to Constantinople after a dozen
years of priestly service in Syria, John found himself the reluctant victim of
an imperial ruse to make him bishop in the greatest city of the empire.
Ascetic, unimposing but dignified, and troubled by stomach ailments from his
desert days as a monk, John became a bishop under the cloud of imperial
politics.
If his body was weak, his tongue was powerful. The content of
his sermons, his exegesis of Scripture, were never without a point. Sometimes
the point stung the high and mighty. Some sermons lasted up to two hours.
His lifestyle at the imperial court was not appreciated by many
courtiers. He offered a modest table to episcopal sycophants hanging around for
imperial and ecclesiastical favors. John deplored the court protocol that
accorded him precedence before the highest state officials. He would not be a
kept man.
His zeal led him to decisive action. Bishops who bribed their
way into office were deposed. Many of his sermons called for concrete steps to
share wealth with the poor. The rich did not appreciate hearing from John that
private property existed because of Adam’s fall from grace any more than
married men liked to hear that they were bound to marital fidelity just as much
as their wives were. When it came to justice and charity, John acknowledged no
double standards.
Aloof, energetic, outspoken, especially when he became excited
in the pulpit, John was a sure target for criticism and personal trouble. He
was accused of gorging himself secretly on rich wines and fine foods. His
faithfulness as spiritual director to the rich widow, Olympia, provoked much
gossip attempting to prove him a hypocrite where wealth and chastity were
concerned. His actions taken against unworthy bishops in Asia Minor were viewed
by other ecclesiastics as a greedy, uncanonical extension of his authority.
Theophilus, archbishop of Alexandria, and Empress Eudoxia were
determined to discredit John. Theophilus feared the growth in importance of the
Bishop of Constantinople and took occasion to charge John with fostering
heresy. Theophilus and other angered bishops were supported by Eudoxia. The
empress resented his sermons contrasting gospel values with the excesses of
imperial court life. Whether intended or not, sermons mentioning the lurid
Jezebel and impious Herodias were associated with the empress, who finally did
manage to have John exiled. He died in exile in 407.
Reflection
John Chrysostom’s preaching, by word and example, exemplifies
the role of the prophet to comfort the afflicted and to afflict the
comfortable. For his honesty and courage, he paid the price of a turbulent
ministry as bishop, personal vilification, and exile.
Saint John Chrysostom is the Patron Saint of:
Orators
Preachers
Speakers
https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-john-chrysostom/
Lectio Divina: 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)
Lectio Divina
Sunday, September 13, 2020
1. Opening prayer
Lord Jesus, send Your Spirit to help us to read the Scriptures
with the same mind that You read them to the disciples on the way to Emmaus. In
the light of the Word, written in the Bible, You helped them to discover the
presence of God in the disturbing events of Your sentence and death. Thus, the
cross that seemed to be the end of all hope became for them the source of life
and of resurrection.
Create silence in us so that we may listen to Your voice in Creation and in the
Scriptures, in events and in people, above all in the poor and suffering. May
Your word guide us so that we too, like the two disciples on the way to Emmaus,
may experience the force of Your resurrection and witness to others that You
are alive in our midst as source of fraternity, justice and peace. We ask this
of You, Jesus, son of Mary, who revealed the Father to us and sent us Your
Spirit. Amen.
2. Reading
a) A division of the text to help with the reading:
Matthew 18:21: Peter’s question
Matthew 18:22: Jesus’ reply
Matthew 18:23-26: 1st part of the parable
Matthew 18:27-30: 2nd part of the parable
Matthew 18:31-35: 3rd part of the parable
b) A key to the reading:
In the Gospel of the 24th Sunday of Ordinary
Time, Jesus tells us of the need to forgive our brothers and sisters. It is not
easy to forgive. There are some offences and insults that go on hurting us.
Some say, “I forgive, but I do not forget.” I cannot forget! Resentment,
tensions, different opinions, provocations make it difficult to forgive and be
reconciled. Why is forgiving so difficult? Do I create a space in my
family, my community, my work and my relationships for reconciliation and
forgiveness? How? Let us meditate on the third part of the “Sermon on the
Community” (Mt 18:21-35), where Matthew puts together the sayings and parables
of Jesus on limitless forgiveness. As you read, think of yourself and try to
look back on your life.
c) The text:
21 Then Peter went up to Him and said, 'Lord, how often must I
forgive my brother if he wrongs me? As often as seven times?' 22 Jesus
answered, 'Not seven, I tell you, but seventy-seven times. 23 'And so the
kingdom of Heaven may be compared to a king who decided to settle his accounts
with his servants. 24 When the reckoning began, they brought him a man who owed
ten thousand talents; 25 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. 26 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."
27 And the servant's master felt so sorry for him that he let
him go and cancelled the debt. 28 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."
29 His fellow-servant fell at his feet and appealed to him, saying, "Be
patient with me and I will pay you." 30 But the other would not agree; on
the contrary, he had him thrown into prison till he should pay the debt. 31 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. 32 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. 33 Were you not bound, then, to
have pity on your fellow-servant just as I had pity on you?" 34 And in his
anger the master handed him over to the torturers till he should pay all his debt.
35 And that is how My heavenly Father will deal with you unless you each
forgive your brother from your heart.'
3. A moment of prayerful silence
so that the Word of God may penetrate and enlighten our
life
4. Some questions
to help us in our personal reflection.
a) Which part of the parable struck you most? Why?
b) What counsels does Jesus give us to help us reconcile and forgive?
c) Looking in the mirror of the parable, with which character do I identify
myself most: the king who wants to audit his servants or with the forgiven
servant who does not want to forgive his companion?
d) Looking at the present situation of our family, our community, our church,
our society and our world, is there among us a space for forgiveness and
reconciliation so that reconciliation spreads among us? Where do we need to
begin so that reconciliation may spread among us?
5. For those who wish to go deeper into the text
a) The context within which our text is placed in Matthew’s
Gospel:
- The comparison that Jesus uses to show the obligation to
forgive and be reconciled brings together parable and allegory. When Jesus
speaks of the King who wants to settle his accounts with his servants, He is
thinking of God who forgives all. When He speaks of the debt of the servant
forgiven by the King, He is thinking of our huge debt with God who always
forgives us. When He speaks of the attitude of the forgiven servant who will
not forgive, he is thinking of us, forgiven by God, but who will not forgive
our brothers and sisters.
- At the end of the first century, the Judeo-Christians of the
communities of Syria and Palestine had serious and grave problems of
reconciliation with the brothers and sisters of the same race. At the time of
the great disaster of the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in the 70’s,
both the Synagogue and the Ecclesia were
trying to reorganize themselves in the regions of Syria and Palestine. That is
why there was a great and growing tension between them that was the source of
much suffering within families. This tension is the background to Matthew’s
Gospel.
b) A commentary on the text:
Matthew 18:21: Peter’s question: how many times
forgive?
On hearing Jesus’ words on reconciliation, Peter asks: “How often must I
forgive? Seven times?” Seven is a number indicating perfection and, in the case
of Peter’s proposal, seven is synonymous with always.
Matthew 18:22: Jesus’ reply: seventy times seven!
Jesus sees further. He eliminates any possible limitation to forgiveness: “Not
seven, but seventy times seven!” There is no proportion between the forgiveness
we receive from God and our forgiving our brother and sister. So as to make His
reply to Peter clear, Jesus tells a parable. It is the parable of limitless
forgiveness!
Matthew 18:23-26: The first part of the parable: the situation
of the debtor
When He speaks of the King, Jesus is thinking of God. A servant owes the king
ten thousand talents, that is, 164 tons of gold. The servant says he will pay.
But even if he worked the whole of his life, he, his wife, his children and all
his family, he would not be able to acquire 164 tons of gold to pay back the
king. In other words, we shall never be in a position to pay back our debt with
God. Impossible! (cf. Psalm 49:8-9).
Matthew 18:27-30: The second part of the parable: The great
contrast
At the servant’s insistence, the king forgives him his debt of 164 tons of
gold. A fellow servant owes him a hundred denarii, that is, 30 grams of gold.
There is no comparison between the two debts! A grain of sand and a mountain!
Before God’s love that freely forgives our debt of 164 tons of gold, it is only
just that we should forgive a debt of 30 grams of gold. But the forgiven
servant would not forgive, not even at the insistence of the debtor. He behaves
towards his fellow servant the way the king should have behaved towards him but
did not: he ordered that he be thrown in jail until the debt of 30 grams of
gold was paid! The contrast speaks for itself and needs no commentary!
Matthew 18:23-35: The third part of the parable: the moral of
the story
The shameful attitude of the forgiven servant who will not forgive strikes even
his mates. They report him to the king and the king acts accordingly: he puts
into motion the procedure of justice and the forgiven servant who in turn would
not forgive, is thrown into jail, where he will stay until his debt is paid! He
should still be there today! He will never be able to pay 164 tons of gold! The
moral of the parable: “This is how My Father will deal with you unless you each
forgive your brother from your heart!” The only limit to the free mercy of God
who always forgives us is our refusal to forgive the brother and sister! (Mt
18:34; 6:12:15; Lk 23:34).
c) A deepening: Forgiving after 11 September 2001!
On 11 September 2001, a group of terrorists flew two planes into
the two towers of New York and killed more than three thousand persons while
shouting “Holy War!” The immediate cry in reply was: “Crusade”. Both sides used
the name of God to legitimize violence. No one recalled the saying: “Seventy
times seven!” And one of the sides calls itself Christian!
On the occasion of the war in Iraq, Pope John Paul II shouted at
a public audience, “War is Satanic!”, and invited all to fight for peace. At an
ecumenical meeting of representatives of Jews and Muslims in Jerusalem in 2000,
the Pope said, “We cannot call on the name of God to legitimize violence!”
The last sentence of the Old Testament through which the people
of God entered the New Testament and that expresses the nucleus of its
messianic hope for reconciliation, is the oracle of the prophet Malachi: “Lo, I
will send Elijah, the prophet, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and
terrible day, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the
hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with
doom” (Mal 3:23). To turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and the
hearts of children to their fathers, means to rebuild relationships between
persons. There will be no future of peace unless we make a great effort at
rebuilding human relationships in the small nucleus, that is, in the family and
in the community. The community is where families meet to preserve and pass on
the values that they hold.
Indifference came into the world with the first-born of the
first union: Cain who kills Abel (Gen 4:8). This indifference has grown with
double vengeance. Cain will be avenged sevenfold, but Lamech seventy times
sevenfold (Gen 4:24). Peter wants to undo the error and proposes a
reconciliation of seven times (Mt 18:21). But his proposal is weak. It does not
go to the root of violence. Jesus goes much further and demands seventy times
seven (Mt 18:22). To this day, and especially today, reconciliation is the most
urgent task for us, followers of Jesus. It is worthwhile remembering Jesus’
warning: “That is how My Father will deal with you unless you each
forgive the brother from your heart!” Seventy times seven!
6. Prayer: Psalm 62
God our only hope
In God alone there is rest for my soul,
from Him comes my safety;
He alone is my rock, my safety,
my stronghold so that I stand unshaken.
How much longer will you set on a victim,
all together, intent on murder,
like a rampart already leaning over,
a wall already damaged?
Trickery is their only plan,
deception their only pleasure,
with lies on their lips they pronounce a blessing,
with a curse in their hearts.
Rest in God alone, my soul!
He is the source of my hope.
He alone is my rock, my safety, my stronghold,
so that I stand unwavering.
In God is my safety and my glory,
the rock of my strength.
In God is my refuge;
trust in Him, you people, at all times.
Pour out your hearts to Him,
God is a refuge for us.
Ordinary people are a mere puff of wind,
important people a delusion;
set both on the scales together,
and they are lighter than a puff of wind.
Put no trust in extortion,
no empty hopes in robbery;
however much wealth may multiply,
do not set your heart on it.
Once God has spoken,
twice have I heard this:
Strength belongs to God,
to You, Lord, faithful love;
and You repay everyone as their deeds deserve.
7. Final Prayer
Lord Jesus, we thank You for the word that has enabled us to
understand better the will of the Father. May Your Spirit enlighten our actions
and grant us the strength to practice that which Your Word has revealed to us.
May we, like Mary, Your mother, not only listen to but also practice the Word,
You who live and reign with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit forever
and ever. Amen.
https://ocarm.org/en/content/lectio/lectio-24th-sunday-ordinary-time-0
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét