Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 130
17 SEPT 2017 A.D.



Reading 1
Sir 27:30—28:7

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
Ps 103:1-2, 3-4, 9-10, 11-12

R. 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
Rom 14:7-9

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
Jn 13:34

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I give you a new commandment, says the Lord;
love one another as I have loved you.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.



Gospel
Mt 18:21-35

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."

Bible Study--24th Sunday in Ordinary Time--Cycle A
(courtesy: Vince Contreras, Sunday Scripture Study for Catholics)


"Force yourself, if necessary, to always forgive those who offend you from the very first moment. For the greatest injury or offense that you can suffer from them is nothing compared to what God has
pardoned you."- St. Josemaria Escriva

We are in desperate need of more forgiveness in this world.  Thank you for sharing and this reminder that our Lord expects and in fact demands this of us.

Thanks, BNA. Great job as always.

Thanks, Brothers, DanW and cb73!

You are right--we sure do need forgiveness in this world today--at many levels.

Can genocidal cruelty be forgiven?



At the Vigil Mass this evening, we had a visiting Priest, Fr. Crocker. He related a slice of Corrie ten-Boom's life. She belonged to a Dutch Christian family that hid Jews from the Nazis in WWII. Her family was betrayed by townspeople and all went to the concentration camps. Her father and dearest sister, Betsie, died in the camps. After the war, ten-Boom returned to The Netherlands to set up a rehabilitation center in Bloemendaal. She returned to Germany in 1946, and was speaking on Christian forgiveness.  

After her lecture, a man came up to her and asked her to forgive him. She recognized him immediately. He was one of the cruelest Nazi guards at Ravensbruck camp where she was imprisoned with her sister, and he was especially cruel to her sister, Betsie. She froze in horror and refused the man's outstretched hand seeking her forgiveness. Painful bells and whistles were going off in her mind non-stop.

Minutes passed in silence and Corrie said, all of sudden, "...it was like a wave of love passed through me--it was God--and my hand just floated up to meet his hand; I forgave him."

P.S. If you have not read her riveting book, "The Hiding Place," it's well worth the read. YouTube also has a faithful movie rendition of her book:
The Hiding Place Part 1 of 15


(the ten-Boom family women)

I love this thread each week. The art. the scriptures, the study link.
But even more the discourse and opportunity to learn even more.

Forgiveness takes practice. It's not easy to forgive those who have harmed you or who do harm.
Like faith... forgiveness has to be nourished and sometimes it has to happen over and over again. 
Hating someone is easy. It's addictive and in these times it spreads faster than the plague. It consumes people and like all addictions, it becomes a way of life.

You all are in my prayers.
I can't thank you all enough for these incredible posts each week.

No need to thank us, AF!

We are all "Family" here!

"Lord, for all this we give you thanks! Friends, Family, and especially Faith!"

2016


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