TWENTY FOURTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - 2023

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

I give you a new commandment:
love one another just as I have loved you,
says the Lord. JN 13:34

ECCLESIASTICUS 27:33-28:9 ©

MySoul's Beloved,

You became one like us in all things save sin - You came among us as the poorest of the poor and You endured every hardship and privation voluntarily. You became the least among us so You could raise us up to Yourself and share with us all Your riches making us heirs to the Kingdom that You won for us from the Cross. You took upon Yourself all the world's ills, all the horrific sins that we commit against each other, enduring a punishment that was ours - we deserved eternal death but out of compassion for us, You took it upon Yourself and in exchange gave us eternal life in You. 

This is why we are bound to forgive the sins that our brothers and sisters commit against us. It is in the measure that we forgive that we will be forgiven. You O Lord are very clear on this. The writer reminds us that if we are unwilling to show pity to our neighbour who is weak and frail just as we are, then mercy will be withheld from us too.

Grant us this grace O Lord, that keeping our mind always on the things that are eternal we may live our present life according to Your will and Your commandments.

Remember the last things, and stop hating,
remember dissolution and death, and live by the commandments.
Remember the commandments, and do not bear your neighbour ill-will;
remember the covenant of the Most High, and overlook the offence.

PSALM 102(103):1-4,9-12 ©

My soul, give thanks to the Lord

all my being, bless his holy name.
My soul, give thanks to the Lord
and never forget all his blessings.

It is he who forgives all your guilt,

who heals every one of your ills,
who redeems your life from the grave,
who crowns you with love and compassion.

His wrath will come to an end;

he will not be angry forever.
He does not treat us according to our sins
nor repay us according to our faults.

For as the heavens are high above the earth

so strong is his love for those who fear him.
As far as the east is from the west
so far does he remove our sins.

The Lord is compassion and love, slow to anger and rich in mercy.

ROMANS 14:7-9 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

We are grafted to You, O Lord, we are One in You and in being One with You we are also one with each other this is why the sin or the virtue of each one of us affects the the whole of Your Body. You entered into our death and You crushed the head of evil by destroying death winning for us the gift of eternal life in and through You.

You truly are the Lord of both the dead and the living and we are truly grateful to the Father for giving us such a glorious Redeemer like Yourself, You who are innocence incarnate did not hesitate to become like us in all things save sin in order that You, through the grace of the Holy Spirit become like You. 

MATTHEW 18:21-35 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Today we are reminded about God's generosity and compassion in dealing with us. Reflecting on our past lives we can see clearly how gravely we have sinned over and over again and You forgave us all our offences when we approached You in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Not only do You forgive us, Lord, but You grant us rich graces to assist us in avoiding serious sin in the future. This is why we dare not keep checks and balances when it comes to our dealings with others. The same loving kindness that You have shown us we are commanded to extend to each other. If we fail to do so our experience will be like that of the servant who was forgiven the whole of the extremely large debt he owed his master but instead of showing the same charity to his fellow servant who owed him a pittance, he demanded that he repay the debt in full immediately. Begging for time to repay what he owed, just as the servant had begged the king to show him mercy, he refused to do so and had him thrown in prison until he could pay.

His fellow servants knowing that the king had forgiven the extremely large debt he owed reported to him how this man refused to forgive the paltry sum that was owed to him. When the king heard it he was outraged and rightly so and he had to suffer rigorously in prison until he paid the entire debt. 

We are sinners and we sin all the time - this is why when anyone sins against us and asks for forgiveness we ought to do so promptly and from the heart and You in turn will forgive us as well. It is in the measure that we forgive that we will be forgiven.