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Catholic Caucus: Sunday Mass Readings, 09-17-17, Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 09-17-17 | Revised New American Bible

Posted on 09/16/2017 9:48:52 PM PDT by Salvation

September 17, 2017

Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

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. (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 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."



TOPICS: Catholic; General Discusssion; Prayer; Worship
KEYWORDS: catholic; mt18; ordinarytime; prayer; saints
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'If the heart of a man is not lifted up, this is from no defect on the part of him who draws it, who as far as he is concerned never fails, but from an impediment caused by him who is being drawn.'

St. Peter Julian Eymard

21 posted on 09/16/2017 10:41:24 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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The Angelus 

The Angel of the Lord declared to Mary: 
And she conceived of the Holy Spirit. 

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of
our death. Amen. 

Behold the handmaid of the Lord: Be it done unto me according to Thy word. 

Hail Mary . . . 

And the Word was made Flesh: And dwelt among us. 

Hail Mary . . . 


Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. 

Let us pray: 

Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts; that we, to whom the incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection, through the same Christ Our Lord.

Amen. 


"Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you" (Lk 1:28) 

 "Blessed are you among women,
 and blessed is the fruit of your womb"
(Lk 1:42). 


22 posted on 09/16/2017 10:42:12 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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Zenit.org

Forgiveness Has No Limits

XXIV Sunday of Ordinary Time – September 17, 2017

September 15, 2017Spirituality and Prayer
Michael Angelo Immenraet, Jesus and the Woman of Canaan, Public Domain

Michael Angelo Immenraet, Jesus and the Woman of Canaan (Unionskirche Idstein, Germany), Public Domain

Roman Rite

XXIV Sunday of Ordinary Time – September 17, 2017

Sir 27: 33-28, 9; Ps 103; Rm 14, 7-9; Mt 18: 21-35

 

Ambrosian Rite

Is 11, 10-16; Ps 132; 1 Tm 1, 12-17; Lk 9: 18-22?

Third Sunday after the Martyrdom of St. John the Precursor.

 

 

 

 

In this Sunday’s Gospel we are told of the time when Peter asked Christ how many times he should forgive his neighbor. The Messiah, the bearer of the Gospel of Mercy, answered that he ought to forgive “not seven times, but seventy times seven” (Mt 18, 21s), namely always. In fact, the number “seventy” times “seven” is a symbolic number that, more than a determinate quantity, means an infinite immeasurable amount.

In saying that we must forgive “seventy times seven, Jesus teaches that Christian forgiveness is unlimited and only a limitless forgiveness resembles God’s mercy.

Divine forgiveness is the reason and measure of fraternal forgiveness. Because God the Father has already made us the subjects of an immeasurable mercy, we must forgive without measure. Fraternal forgiveness is the consequence of God’s paternal forgiveness to be invoked on those who offend us. We must pray “Our Father who art in heaven … forgive us trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us ” for those who are guilty towards us (= “to our debtors”) and make ours the prayer of Christ on the Cross when, turning to the Father, he begged “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do “(Lk 23:34).

“Forgive” is the word spoken by Christ, to whom evil was done in an unjust and unmanageable way. The dying Messiah forgives and opens the space of infinite love to the men that offend and kill him. He pronounces this word of the heart that reveals an infinitely good God: the God of forgiveness and of mercy.

How can we, poor and limited beings, put this unlimited love into practice?

First, begging God’s mercy because otherwise we cannot give what we do not have. The Master of whom Christ speaks in the parable of today, is moved by the servant’s plea and condones all his debts revealing a love not just patient but boundless in mercy. The mistake to avoid after receiving this forgiveness is not recognizing that in it there is his love for us, and that this love grows in us if we share it.

Secondly, realizing that the reception of God’s forgiveness is concretized in forgiving others and that, in forgiving those who have offended us, we love the neighbor as ourselves and achieve not only his but also our good and our happiness.

Third, realizing that forgiveness is not just an act we are called to do infinite times, but it is a way of being that must involve our daily life throughout our entire life. It is a “religious” dimension in the full sense of the term because it expresses our communion with God, whose love changes. “Forgiving is not ignoring but transforming: that is, God must enter this world and oppose to the ocean of injustice a greater ocean of good and love.” (Benedict XVI, July 24, 2005)

A high, but human example of this forgiveness comes from Our Lady, often invoked as the Mother of Mercy. At the feet of his crucified Son, Mary forgave us accepting as her children the men for whom Christ had been crucified and died. With this yes (fiat) she became forever, without limit, our Mother, Mother of Forgiveness, in the same way as, a few decades before, she had become fully available to God and the mother of Jesus, the human Face of Divine Mercy. Mary has become and remains forever the Mother of Mercy, “model and example of forgiveness.

 

 

 

 

Today’s parable also gives us another lesson about forgiveness which does not “only” have to be forever but also free. The relationship with God must not be separate from the one with the neighbor. In fact, the servant of the parable is condemned because he keeps his master’s forgiveness for himself and does not allow it to become joy and forgiveness also for others. The error of this servant is to separate the relationship with God from the relationship with the neighbor. It is a unique relationship. In the same way as between God and man there is a relationship of gratuity and welcoming love, so it must be between a man and his brothers.

I think that the parable wants to emphasize that God’s love is not primarily circular and mutual, but expansive and freely given. It is in the line of gratuity, not of close reciprocity. God doesn’t not let himself to be limited to a close reciprocity. Those who believe in God and speak of God, must widen the space of forgiveness, which realizes true justice.

The important thing is to understand and to live the fact that “God’s justice is his mercy” (Misericordiae Vultus, 20). Pope Francis writes “Mercy is not opposed to justice but rather expresses God’s way of reaching out to the sinner, offering him a new chance to look at himself, convert, and believe.”(Id 21). We must be an outgoing Church looking at the others with the eyes of Jesus: eyes of love and not of exclusion, certain that God is all and only Love. Because of that being Love, he is openness, welcome, dialogue that, in the relationship with us sinners, becomes compassion, grace, and forgiveness: mercy.

The consecrated Virgins are specifically called to be witnesses of this mercy of the Lord in which we are all saved.

The existence of these women keeps the experience of God’s forgiveness alive because they live aware of being saved and to be great only when they recognize to be little, renewed and wrapped in God’s holiness when they recognize their own sin.

Therefore, consecrated life remains a privileged school of the “compunction of the heart” and of the humble recognition of one’s own misery, but it is also a school of trust in God’s mercy and in his love that never abandons. In fact, the closer we are to God, the more we are useful to others.

With the total gift of self, the consecrated virgins experience grace, mercy and the forgiveness of God not only for themselves, but also for their brothers and sisters because their vocation is to bring in the heart and in prayer the anguish and the expectations of all, especially of those who are far from God.

Virginity is the fruit of a long-standing friendship with Jesus matured in constant listening of his Word, in the dialogue of prayer, and in the Eucharistic encounter. That’s why, for the consecrated virgins to be believable witnesses of faith, they must be persons who live for Christ, with Christ and Christ, transforming their lives according to the highest demands of gratuity.

Gratitude is one of the fulcrums of the gospel. Everything is Grace. “Nobody” can claim anything, everything flows, because everything is donated. As Paul would say “What do you ever possess that you did not received? But if you have received it, why are you boasting as you did not receive it? “(1 Cor 4: 7). Gratuity is not doing things without motive, but to do them with the maximum of reasons. It is “faith working through love


23 posted on 09/17/2017 8:19:46 AM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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Arlington Catholic Herald

Calculating the math of mercy

Fr. Matthew H. Zuberbueler
9/13/17

Gospel Commentary

How large is your personal forgiveness quota? Trick question. It will seem like a trick question anyway, if you consider it from the point of view of how many times you want to be able to be forgiven. The other point of view would be how many times you are willing to forgive. The teaching of Jesus this Sunday concerns making the two numbers the same, and really, making them no number at all. The way we forgive should match the way we are forgiven.

Peter is at it again today. He is asking the questions others have but don’t dare ask. “How often must I forgive? As many as seven times?” Can you hear the calculator of his mind doing the estimates of what he thinks he could actually do, factoring in three or four more times to bring him closer to the answer he anticipates the Merciful Jesus might give? The answer Jesus gives, of course, is more than he expects and more than Peter thinks he can do. Without going into the weeds of translations and original languages (although such would be interesting to do) we notice that Jesus’ answer seems to have changed over the past years — not so long ago we heard at Mass “seventy times seven times.” Today, we hear “seventy-seven times.” Is it an error? Did Jesus send a correction through the church? Does it matter to you? A way of coping with these kinds of details is to glean the clear meaning of Jesus. Recognizing that He clearly means a great and endless number of times helps us put His merciful ways into action in our own interactions. Honestly, if we can manage to forgive, really forgive someone who offends us 77 times, will the 78th time be more difficult than the time before? Would the 490th time be the last straw?

The key to making sense of this merciful math game is to recognize that it is anything but a calculation. Imagine a coupon system by which we go over to the parish church and receive seven vouchers for this year’s Ordinary Time sins. This system would teach us that there is a limited supply of mercy. Maybe we would like the clear limits and boundaries? Would knowing that there is one more mercy moment possible for a person be enough to make him virtuous until his Lenten coupons came? Instead of these kinds of small-minded ways, Jesus teaches something very different and much better in today’s parable.

The master in the parable forgives his servant a very large debt. He does so when the servant asks him to be patient with him. “Moved with compassion the master of that servant let him go and forgave him the loan.” The amount Jesus uses in this parable is an amount that would have taken the servant some fifteen years to pay. In this way, Jesus reminds us that we really aren’t in a position to pay back what we owe when it comes to making up for our sins. The only hope we have is to be able to acquire, so to speak, the kind of abundant wealth the master has. The master in this case simply doesn’t require the servant to pay. The continuation of the parable shows clearly that the meaning of this mercy is that it should be received, learned and passed on.

When we hear what happens next between the forgiven servant and his fellow servant who owes him a very small amount we are bothered rightfully. How could he do that? After he was just forgiven a much greater debt? The answer to our question is sometimes present in our very own ways. We seek mercy from God over and over. Also in life we are asked to forgive others around us. When we are asked to forgive are we connecting this opportunity to the one we just received? Is your Personal Forgiveness Quota able to stand up to an internal, interior audit? God’s mercy should change us. When it does, it changes the world also. When it comes to counting the cost of forgiveness we have to look at the wide open arms of Jesus on the Cross. “Father, forgive them.” Jesus forgives from a heart full of love. Jesus invites us to do the same — without counting how often or how much.

Fr. Zuberbueler is pastor of St. Anthony of Padua Church in Falls Church.


24 posted on 09/17/2017 8:26:51 AM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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http://www.theworkofgod.org/Devotns/Euchrist/HolyMass/gospels.asp?key=140

Year A - 24th Sunday in ordinary time

How often must I forgive?
Matthew 18:21-35
21 Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?”
22 Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.
23 “For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves.
24 When he began the reckoning, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him;
25 and, as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions, and payment to be made.
26 So the slave fell on his knees before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’
27 And out of pity for him, the lord of that slave released him and forgave him the debt.
28 But that same slave, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denari; and seizing him by the throat, he said, ‘Pay what you owe.’
29 Then his fellow slave fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’
30 But he refused; then he went and threw him into prison until he would pay the debt.
31 When his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their lord all that had taken place.
32 Then his lord summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me.
33 Should you not have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?’
34 And in anger his lord handed him over to be tortured until he would pay his entire debt.
35 So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart.” (NRSV)

Inspiration of the Holy Spirit - From the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Sin is the dark inheritance of every human being. I came to this world to forgive sins so that you could be reconciled with my Heavenly Father and partake of his divinity and of the glories of the Kingdom of Heaven.

In my prayer to the Father I have taught you to say “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” In other words, your forgiveness is guaranteed so long as you forgive those who upset you and sin against you.

You must forgive if you expect to be forgiven. Forgiveness begins with patience, which is a mild form of forgiveness and tolerance that opens the heart to complete understanding and mercy.

I have said, be merciful as my heavenly father is merciful, do not judge and you shall not be judged, for with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get.

Justice will be made to those who do not forgive. Therefore, be mild in your judgment; always treat others as you would like them to treat you. Put your self in the other person’s position when you are offended. Do not risk your own forgiveness by having resentments in your heart.

The moment someone offends you is the moment to forgive and forget. The other person may have committed a sin but you are not God to condemn him, forgive him and you will avoid committing a sin yourself. Be merciful and you will obtain mercy on the day of judgment.

When you do not forgive, you create resentment in your heart, which will work against the person who offended you and will serve as the platform to harden your heart. You will accumulate more resentment against other people and in the end you will have many enemies. The evil of your resentments will be your sin; it will surround you with darkness and destroy all your chances to be at peace with your self, with your neighbor and with God.

You will not find happiness on earth as long as you have resentments, therefore you must forgive and forget in order to obtain interior peace and to reconcile your self with others and with God.

There is no point in presenting your offering before Heaven if you still have something against your brother. If you bind resentments in your heart, they will stop you from entering into the joy of my presence, you will have to undo each resentment with many acts of love in order to be purified.

The Holy Spirit cannot be at home in a heart that does not forgive. Lack of forgiveness leads to hatred; which is the opposite of love.

Forgive and you will truly learn how to love, love mercifully and you will imitate the goodness of my loving heart.

Author: Joseph of Jesus and Mary


25 posted on 09/17/2017 8:30:33 AM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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Archdiocese of Washington

Finding Forgiveness Through the Magnificence of Mercy - A Homily for the 24th Sunday of the Year

September 16, 2017

The Gospel this Sunday draws us into a remarkably sensitive area of the faith, that of forgiving others who may have harmed us. There are many who been authentically hurt and others who in offering forgiveness will become vulnerable to further harm. Forgiveness is something we experience as a very personal call; in some cases, it may be the most challenging thing we are ever asked to do.

I have titled this Homily carefully; if we read the parable closely we will come to understand that mercy and forgiveness are not something we do out of our own flesh. Rather, they are capacities we must find within ourselves. As the remarkable reality of God’s incredible mercy for us dawns upon us, our hearts are moved. Suddenly we don’t hate anyone and forgiveness flows from our broken, humbled hearts. This is a gift that the Lord offers us.

Let’s look at this Gospel in four movements.

I. THE PRESENTATION OF THE PROBLEM – The text says, 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.”

Peter’s question seems to presuppose that there needs to be a limit to forgiveness, that it is unrealistic to expect human beings to forgive without limit. Many would likely agree with Peter and might not even propose to be as generous as forgiving seven times. Jesus answers by speaking in a Jewish way, telling Peter that we cannot set limits on mercy or forgiveness, but must forgive without limit.

This of course raises many questions. Some people like to use extreme examples to illustrate that they think such a principle absurd or impractical: Do you mean to say that a wife should welcome back her physically abusive husband as long as he says he’s sorry? Should a business welcome back an embezzler and put him in charge of the cash register as long as he says he’s sorry? Should I let my alcoholic uncle stay with us and disturb my children as long as he says he’s sorry and swears he won’t do it again?

On some level these questions imply that forgiveness is to be fully equated with pretending that something never happened, or that it obligates me to maintain an unchanged relationship and let “bygones be bygones.” We are not always able to live in peace and have relaxed boundaries with people who have shown themselves to be untrustworthy in a consistent or fundamental way. Forgiveness does not obligate us to put ourselves or others at unreasonable risk or to set the sinner up for another fall.

But even though we may have to erect necessary and proper boundaries with those who have sinned against us, we are still summoned to forgive them. What does forgiveness mean in situations like this?

In effect, forgiveness is letting go of the need to change the past. Forgiving does not necessarily mean simply returning to the status quo ante, but it does mean letting go of resentments, bitterness, hatefulness, desires for revenge, and the need to lash out at someone for what he did or did not do. Forgiving means setting down ball and chain of hatred and anger we so often carry about. It means learning to love those who have harmed us and understanding the struggles that may have contributed to their harmful behavior. Forgiving can even mean being happy for the health and welfare of those who have hurt us and praying for their continued well being. Ultimately, forgiveness is freeing; a crushing weight is removed when we receive this gift from God.

How are we to receive this gift? The Lord gives an important insight for us to grasp in the verses ahead.

II. THE POVERTY THAT IS PROFOUND – The text says, 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.’

The Lord’s parable begins by describing a man who owes a huge amount. The Greek text says he owed ten thousand talents (μυρίων ταλάντων). Scripture scholars love to debate exactly how much this would be in modern currency, but for our purposes, it is a Jewish way of saying that this fellow owes a great deal of money and it’s going to take more than working a little overtime or taking on a part-time job. This is a debt that is completely beyond his ability to pay. The situation is hopeless; the man is so profoundly poor that he is completely incapable of ever making a dent in what he owes.

This man is each one of us; this is our state before God. We have a debt of sin so high and so heavy that we can never hope to be rid of it on our own. I don’t care how many spiritual pushups we do, how many novenas, chaplets, and rosaries we say, how often we go to Mass, how many pilgrimages we undertake, or how much we give to the poor. We can’t even make a noticeable dent what we owe.

People like to make light of sin today, saying such inane things as, “I’m basically a good person” or “At least I’m not as bad as that prostitute over there.” So you’ve got $500 in your pocket and she’s only got $50. Big deal; the debt owed is three trillion dollars. None of us can even come close to paying it off. Without Christ paying the difference, we’re finished; off to jail; off to Hell. We have all committed the infinite offense of saying no to a God who is infinitely holy. You and I just don’t have the resources to turn back the debt.

You may think I’m belaboring the point, but we really have to get this through our thick skulls. We are in real trouble without Christ. The more we can grasp our profound poverty and understand that without Jesus Hell is our destination, the more we can appreciate the gift of what He has done for us. Let this sink in: We are in big trouble; our situation is grave. An old song says, “In times like these, you need a savior.”

III. THE PITY THAT IS PERSONAL – The text says, Moved with compassion the master of that servant let him go and forgave him the loan.

Look at that! Don’t miss this! The whole debt is paid. Complete and dramatic mercy! Notice how personal the mercy is. The text uses intensifiers: the master of that servant let him go and forgave him the loan. This man is you. God has done this for you—you.

If we miss this point, nothing else makes sense. We have got to let it get through to us what God has done for us. If we do, it will equip us to show mercy.

One day it will finally dawn on us that the Son of God died for us. When it does, our stone hearts will break and love will pour in. With broken, humbled hearts, we will find it hard to hate anyone. In our gratitude we will gladly forgive those who have hurt us, even those who still hate us. With the new heart that the Lord can give us, we will forgive gladly, joyfully, and consistently out of gratitude and humility.

But we have to understand this. We have to know our poverty and recognize our inability to save ourselves. Then we have to know and experience that Jesus paid it all, that He saved us wholly and freely. If this will break through for us, we will forgive and love others.

If we do not understand this and we refuse to let the Holy Spirit to minister this gift to us, some pretty awful things will happen.

IV. THE PITILESSNESS THAT IS PERILOUS – The text then relates a tragic story: When that servant had left, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a much smaller amount. He seized one of his fellow servants 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.

Apparently this wicked servant never got in touch with his true poverty and refused to experience the gift that he himself had received. As a result, his heart remained unbroken; it remained hard; it was stone. Having experienced no mercy (though mercy had been extended to him) he was willfully ill-equipped to show mercy to others. Callously unaware of the unbelievable gift he had been given, he remained unchanged. In so doing and being, he was unfit for the Kingdom of God, which can only be entered by gladly receiving mercy.

Yet many Christians are like this. They go through their life unaware and unappreciative of either their need for mercy or even the fact that incredible mercy has been extended to them. Unaware, they are ungrateful. Ungrateful, their hearts are unbroken; no light or love has been able to enter. Hurt by others they respond by hurting back, holding grudges, or growing arrogant and unkind. They lack compassion for or understanding of others and consider themselves superior to those whom they view as worse sinners than they are. They think that forgiveness is either a sign of weakness or something that only foolish people offer. They don’t get angry; they get even.

It all begins with a person who doesn’t understand the gravity of his condition or the depth of his poverty. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked (Rev 3:17). Refusing to see their poverty they do not appreciate their gift; so the terrible cycle ensues.

Scripture warns in many places of our need to experience and show mercy:

  1. For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins (Matt 6:14).
  2. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy (Matt 5:7).
  3. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you (Matt 7:2).
  4. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. (Luke 6:37).
  5. This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart (Matt 18:35).
  6. For judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. But mercy triumphs over judgment! (James 2:13)
  7. The vengeful will suffer the Lord’s vengeance, for He remembers their sin in detail. Forgive your neighbor’s injustice, then when you pray, your own sins will be forgiven. Can anyone nourish anger against another and expect healing from the Lord? Can anyone refuse mercy to another like himself and then seek pardon for his own sins? Remember your last days, set enmity aside. Remember death and cease from sin. Think of the Commandments, hate not your neighbor, remember the Most High’s covenant, and overlook faults (Sirach 27:30).

I don’t know about you, but I’m going to need a lot of mercy on the day of judgement. In texts like these, he Lord teaches that we can have an influence on the standard of judgment He will use. Do you want to find mercy? Then receive it now from Him and show it to others. Otherwise you will be judged with strict justice. I promise you; you don’t want that! If strict justice is the measure, we will surely go to Hell. We just owe too much to think we can make it without mercy.

This is a tough Gospel, but a freeing one. Certainly some of us find it hard to forgive. Some have been deeply hurt. In the end, forgiveness is a gift that we must receive from God. It is a work of God in us. We should, we must ask for it. Even if we feel hurt, we must seek the gift; it will bless us and prepare us to receive more mercy. Listen carefully to the warnings. If we cling to our anger and refuse the freeing gift of forgiveness, we become unfit for the kingdom of Heaven. No matter how deep our hurts we cannot justify our anger and refusal to forgive. God has just been too good to us. If that will dawn on us, our hearts will break with joy and be filled with love; and forgiveness will surely come with a new heart.

This song says, “Your grace and mercy brought me through, I’m living this moment because of you. I want to thank you, and praise you too, your grace and mercy brought me through.”

26 posted on 09/17/2017 8:32:30 AM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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Video
27 posted on 09/17/2017 8:34:59 AM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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Sunday Gospel Reflections

24th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Reading I: Sirach 27:30-28:7 II: Romans 14:7-9


Gospel
Matthew 18:21-35

21 Then Peter came up and said to him, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?"
22 Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.
23 "Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants.
24 When he began the reckoning, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents;
25 and as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made.
26 So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, 'Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.'
27 And out of pity for him the lord of that servant released him and forgave him the debt.
28 But that same servant, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and seizing him by the throat he said, 'Pay what you owe.'
29 So his fellow servant fell down and besought him, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you.'
30 He refused and went and put him in prison till he should pay the debt.
31 When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their lord all that had taken place.
32 Then his lord summoned him and said to him, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you besought me;
33 and should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?'
34 And in anger his lord delivered him to the jailers, till he should pay all his debt.
35 So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart."


Interesting Details
One Main Point

If one wants mercy from God, be merciful to others. If one exacts justice from others, expect the same from God.


Reflections
  1. Position yourself as one of the three persons in the parable: the king, the servant, or the fellow servant. What do you hear? How do you feel? What is your reasoning in each encounter?
  2. What is the main motive to forgive? Why do I have to forgive always? What do I gain or lose when forgiving?
  3. Jesus taught us in Our Lord's prayer "forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those whose trespass against us." Recall on what occasions and to whom you forgave, compare with the mercy you received from God in the sacrament of reconciliation.
  4. How do you feel when someone forgives you or you forgive someone?

28 posted on 09/17/2017 8:42:15 AM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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Saint Robert Bellarmine

Fr. Don Miller, OFM

Detail | Stained glass window in Saint Anthony of Padua Catholic Church, Dayton, Ohio | photo by NheyobImage: Detail | Stained glass window in Saint Anthony of Padua Catholic Church, Dayton, Ohio | photo by Nheyob

Saint Robert Bellarmine

Saint of the Day for September 17

(October 4, 1542 – September 17, 1621)

 

Saint Robert Bellarmine’s Story

When Robert Bellarmine was ordained in 1570, the study of Church history and the fathers of the Church was in a sad state of neglect. A promising scholar from his youth in Tuscany, he devoted his energy to these two subjects, as well as to Scripture, in order to systematize Church doctrine against the attacks of the Protestant Reformers. He was the first Jesuit to become a professor at Louvain.

His most famous work is his three-volume Disputations on the Controversies of the Christian Faith. Particularly noteworthy are the sections on the temporal power of the pope and the role of the laity. Bellarmine incurred the anger of monarchists in England and France by showing the divine-right-of-kings theory untenable. He developed the theory of the indirect power of the pope in temporal affairs; although he was defending the pope against the Scottish philosopher Barclay, he also incurred the ire of Pope Sixtus V.

Bellarmine was made a cardinal by Pope Clement VIII on the grounds that “he had not his equal for learning.” While he occupied apartments in the Vatican, Bellarmine relaxed none of his former austerities. He limited his household expenses to what was barely essential, eating only the food available to the poor. He was known to have ransomed a soldier who had deserted from the army and he used the hangings of his rooms to clothe poor people, remarking, “The walls won’t catch cold.”

Among many activities, Bellarmine became theologian to Pope Clement VIII, preparing two catechisms which have had great influence in the Church.

The last major controversy of Bellarmine’s life came in 1616 when he had to admonish his friend Galileo, whom he admired. He delivered the admonition on behalf of the Holy Office, which had decided that the heliocentric theory of Copernicus was contrary to Scripture. The admonition amounted to a caution against putting forward—other than as a hypothesis—theories not yet fully proven. This shows that saints are not infallible.

Robert Bellarmine died on September 17, 1621. The process for his canonization was begun in 1627, but was delayed until 1930 for political reasons, stemming from his writings. In 1930, Pope Pius XI canonized him, and the next year declared him a doctor of the Church.


Reflection

The renewal in the Church sought by Vatican II was difficult for many Catholics. In the course of change, many felt a lack of firm guidance from those in authority. They yearned for the stone columns of orthodoxy and an iron command with clearly defined lines of authority. Vatican II assures us in The Church in the Modern World, “There are many realities which do not change and which have their ultimate foundation in Christ, who is the same yesterday and today, yes, and forever” (#10, quoting Hebrews 13:8).

Robert Bellarmine devoted his life to the study of Scripture and Catholic doctrine. His writings help us understand that the real source of our faith is not merely a set of doctrines, but rather the person of Jesus still living in the Church today.


Saint Robert Bellarmine is the Patron Saint of:

Catechists
Catechumens


29 posted on 09/17/2017 2:30:50 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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On St. Robert Bellarmine
Robert Bellarmine, A Valid Authority For Ecclesiology
The 15 Marks of The Church [St. Robert Bellarmine]
Mary: Mediatrix in the Theology of Bellarmine
Saint Robert Bellarmine [Patron of Catechists]
30 posted on 09/17/2017 2:34:36 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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Information: St. Robert Bellarmine

Feast Day: September 17

Born: October 4, 1542, Montepulciano, Italy

Died: September 17, 1621, Rome, Italy

Canonized: June 29, 1930, Rome by Pope Pius XI

Major Shrine: Chiesa di Sant'Ignazio, Rome, Italy

Patron of: Preparatory; canonists; canon lawyers; catechists; catechumens

31 posted on 09/17/2017 2:50:31 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: Salvation

St. Robert Bellarmine

Feast Day: September 17
Born: 1542 :: Died: 1621

Robert was born in Italy. As a boy, he was not interested in playing games, like most children his age were. He liked to spend his time repeating to his younger brothers and sisters the sermons he had heard.

He also liked to explain the lessons of the catechism to the little farm children of the neighborhood. Once he had made his first Holy Communion, he used to receive Jesus every Sunday.

His father wanted to make Robert famous, so he got his son to study many subjects including music and art. Whenever a song had words that were not nice, Robert would replace them with good ones of his own.

It was Robert's great desire to become a Jesuit priest, but his father had other plans for him. For a whole year, Robert pleaded with his father. At last, when he was eighteen, his father allowed him to join the Jesuits.

As a young Jesuit, he did very well in his studies and was sent to preach even before he became a priest. When one good woman first saw such a young man, not even a priest yet, going up into the pulpit to preach, she knelt down to pray.

She asked the Lord to help him not become frightened and stop in the middle. When he finished his sermon, she stayed kneeling. This time, however, she was thanking God for the wonderful sermon he gave.

St. Robert Bellarmine became a famous writer, preacher and teacher. He wrote thirty-one important books. He spent three hours every day in prayer and had a deep knowledge of sacred matters.

Yet even when he became a cardinal, he believed that catechism was so important, that he himself taught it to his household and to the people.

He said: "If you are wise, then know that you have been created for the glory of God and your own eternal salvation. This is your goal; this is the center of your life; this is the treasure of your heart."

Cardinal Bellarmine died on September 17, 1621.


32 posted on 09/17/2017 2:56:07 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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CATHOLIC ALMANAC

Sunday, September 17

Liturgical Color: Green

Today is the optional memorial
of St. Robert Bellarmine, bishop
and doctor of the Church. A
member of the Society of Jesus,
he was a passionate defender of
the Church during the
Reformation. St. Robert died
in 1621.

33 posted on 09/17/2017 3:02:15 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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Catholic Culture

Ordinary Time: September 17th

Twenty-Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time

MASS READINGS

September 17, 2017 (Readings on USCCB website)

COLLECT PRAYER

Look upon us, O God, Creator and ruler of all things, and, that we may feel the working of your mercy, grant that we may serve you With all our heart. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

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Library (3)

Old Calendar: Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost

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 (Mt 18:32-35).”

The feast of St. Robert Bellarmine, which is ordinarily celebrated today, is superseded by the Sunday liturgy.

Click here for commentary on the readings in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.


Sunday Readings
The first reading is taken from the Book of Sirach 27:30, 28:7. In the verses read today, Sirach tells us that we must forgive our neighbor if we want God to forgive us our own sins. We must be merciful if we hope to obtain mercy from God. We must not seek revenge on a neighbor lest God should take vengeance on us. If we remember our end in life we will keep God's commandments and we will not be angry with a neighbor who offends us.

The second reading is from the St. Paul to the Romans 14:7-9. In these three verses St. Paul emphasizes the fact that through our baptism we have been made members of Christ's mystical body, we have become brothers of Christ, intimately united with him in his death and resurrection. Whether living or dead we belong to Christ. It was for this purpose, to unite all men closely to himself not only in this life but especially in the next, that Christ became man and "dwelt among us."

The Gospel is from St. Matthew 18:21-35. On reading or hearing this story of the merciless servant, each one of us would rightly judge him a mean, low type of man, a heartless man, who puts himself outside the pale of mercy. He throttled his fellow-servant for a paltry debt of ten dollars, and would not listen to the poor man's plea for mercy. When we hear what the king did to this heartless servant we heartily approve and say: "It served him right, he got what he richly deserved."

We had better stop and think for a moment today and reflect that we ourselves may be that merciless servant described in the parable. Every time we have sinned mortally we have incurred an unpayable debt to God. Each time we have received absolution we have come out of God's courtroom as free men. A weight greater than a million dollar debt has been lifted from our shoulders. A fate worse than generations of earthly imprisonment — that is, eternal slavery — has been spared us because of God's loving, infinite mercy. How then can it happen that we could be so heartless, mean, and foolish as to refuse to forgive a neighbor for some offense he has committed against us?

Yet it happens, and it may be that there are some among us here today who continue to have enmity in their hearts against neighbors who offended them. In their hard-heartedness they cannot get themselves to forgive and forget. Are these not following in the footsteps of the merciless servant? Will they not receive the punishment of the merciless servant — a punishment richly deserved? This will be the fate of all unforgiving Christians; they will meet an unforgiving God when they are called to settle their accounts.

That day has not yet come for us. We still have time to put our affairs in order. We still can forgive all our enemies from our heart. If we do not, we are cutting ourselves off from the possibility of having our own sins and offenses forgiven by God. We have the solemn word of our divine Lord for this in the lesson he draws from the parable "So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you (that is, deliver us up to eternal slavery) if you do not forgive your brother from your heart."

Excerpted from The Sunday Readings by Fr. Kevin O'Sullivan, O.F.M.

34 posted on 09/17/2017 3:08:05 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: Salvation
Matthew
  English: Douay-Rheims Latin: Vulgata Clementina Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
  Matthew 18
21 Then came Peter unto him and said: Lord, how often shall my brother offend against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Tunc accedens Petrus ad eum, dixit : Domine, quoties peccabit in me frater meus, et dimittam ei ? usque septies ? τοτε προσελθων αυτω ο πετρος ειπεν κυριε ποσακις αμαρτησει εις εμε ο αδελφος μου και αφησω αυτω εως επτακις
22 Jesus saith to him: I say not to thee, till seven times; but till seventy times seven times. Dicit illi Jesus : Non dico tibi usque septies : sed usque septuagies septies. λεγει αυτω ο ιησους ου λεγω σοι εως επτακις αλλ εως εβδομηκοντακις επτα
23 Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened to a king, who would take an account of his servants. Ideo assimilatum est regnum cælorum homini regi, qui voluit rationem ponere cum servis suis. δια τουτο ωμοιωθη η βασιλεια των ουρανων ανθρωπω βασιλει ος ηθελησεν συναραι λογον μετα των δουλων αυτου
24 And when he had begun to take the account, one was brought to him, that owed him ten thousand talents. Et cum cœpisset rationem ponere, oblatus est ei unus, qui debebat ei decem millia talenta. αρξαμενου δε αυτου συναιρειν προσηνεχθη αυτω εις οφειλετης μυριων ταλαντων
25 And as he had not wherewith to pay it, his lord commanded that he should be sold, and his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. Cum autem non haberet unde redderet, jussit eum dominus ejus venundari, et uxorem ejus, et filios, et omnia quæ habebat, et reddi. μη εχοντος δε αυτου αποδουναι εκελευσεν αυτον ο κυριος αυτου πραθηναι και την γυναικα αυτου και τα τεκνα και παντα οσα ειχεν και αποδοθηναι
26 But that servant falling down, besought him, saying: Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. Procidens autem servus ille, orabat eum, dicens : Patientiam habe in me, et omnia reddam tibi. πεσων ουν ο δουλος προσεκυνει αυτω λεγων κυριε μακροθυμησον επ εμοι και παντα σοι αποδωσω
27 And the lord of that servant being moved with pity, let him go and forgave him the debt. Misertus autem dominus servi illius, dimisit eum, et debitum dimisit ei. σπλαγχνισθεις δε ο κυριος του δουλου εκεινου απελυσεν αυτον και το δανειον αφηκεν αυτω
28 But when that servant was gone out, he found one of his fellow servants that owed him an hundred pence: and laying hold of him, throttled him, saying: Pay what thou owest. Egressus autem servus ille invenit unum de conservis suis, qui debebat ei centum denarios : et tenens suffocavit eum, dicens : Redde quod debes. εξελθων δε ο δουλος εκεινος ευρεν ενα των συνδουλων αυτου ος ωφειλεν αυτω εκατον δηναρια και κρατησας αυτον επνιγεν λεγων αποδος μοι ει τι οφειλεις
29 And his fellow servant falling down, besought him, saying: Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. Et procidens conservus ejus, rogabat eum, dicens : Patientiam habe in me, et omnia reddam tibi. πεσων ουν ο συνδουλος αυτου εις τους ποδας αυτου παρεκαλει αυτον λεγων μακροθυμησον επ εμοι και αποδωσω σοι
30 And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he paid the debt. Ille autem noluit : sed abiit, et misit eum in carcerem donec redderet debitum. ο δε ουκ ηθελεν αλλα απελθων εβαλεν αυτον εις φυλακην εως ου αποδω το οφειλομενον
31 Now his fellow servants seeing what was done, were very much grieved, and they came and told their lord all that was done. Videntes autem conservi ejus quæ fiebant, contristati sunt valde : et venerunt, et narraverunt domino suo omnia quæ facta fuerant. ιδοντες δε οι συνδουλοι αυτου τα γενομενα ελυπηθησαν σφοδρα και ελθοντες διεσαφησαν τω κυριω εαυτων παντα τα γενομενα
32 Then his lord called him; and said to him: Thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all the debt, because thou besoughtest me: Tunc vocavit illum dominus suus : et ait illi : Serve nequam, omne debitum dimisi tibi quoniam rogasti me : τοτε προσκαλεσαμενος αυτον ο κυριος αυτου λεγει αυτω δουλε πονηρε πασαν την οφειλην εκεινην αφηκα σοι επει παρεκαλεσας με
33 Shouldst not thou then have had compassion also on thy fellow servant, even as I had compassion on thee? nonne ergo oportuit et te misereri conservi tui, sicut et ego tui misertus sum ? ουκ εδει και σε ελεησαι τον συνδουλον σου ως και εγω σε ηλεησα
34 And his lord being angry, delivered him to the torturers until he paid all the debt. Et iratus dominus ejus tradidit eum tortoribus, quoadusque redderet universum debitum. και οργισθεις ο κυριος αυτου παρεδωκεν αυτον τοις βασανισταις εως ου αποδω παν το οφειλομενον αυτω
35 So also shall my heavenly Father do to you, if you forgive not every one his brother from your hearts. Sic et Pater meus cælestis faciet vobis, si non remiseritis unusquisque fratri suo de cordibus vestris. ουτως και ο πατηρ μου ο επουρανιος ποιησει υμιν εαν μη αφητε εκαστος τω αδελφω αυτου απο των καρδιων υμων τα παραπτωματα αυτων

35 posted on 09/17/2017 4:24:28 PM PDT by annalex (fear them not)
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To: annalex
21. Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?
22. Jesus said to him, I say not to you, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.

JEROME; The Lord had said above, See that you despise not one of these little ones, and had added, If your brother sin against you, &c. making also a promise, If two of you, &c. by which the Apostle Peter was led to ask, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? And to his question he adds an opinion, Until seven times?

CHRYS; Peter thought that he had made a large allowance; but what answers Christ the Lover of men? it follows, Jesus said to him, I say not to you, Until seven times, but, Until seventy times seven.

AUG; I am bold to say, that if he shall sin seventy-eight times, you should forgive him; yea, and if a hundred; and how often so if ever he sin against you, forgive him. For if Christ found a thousand sins, yet forgave them all, do not you withdraw your forgiveness. For the Apostle says, Forgiving one another, if any man have quarrel against any, even as God in Christ forgave you.

CHRYS; When He says, Until seventy times seven, He does not limit a definite number within which forgiveness must be kept; but He signifies thereby something endless and ever enduring.

AUG; Yet not without reason did the Lord say, Seventy times seven; for the Law is set forth in ten precepts; and the Law is signified by the number ten, sin by eleven, because it is passing the denary line. Seven is used to be put for a whole, because time goes round in seven days. Take eleven seven times, and you have seventy. He would therefore have all trespasses forgiven, for this is what He signifies by the number seventy-seven.

ORIGEN; Or, because the number six seems to denote toil and labor, and the number seven repose, He says that forgiveness should be given to all brethren who live in this world, and sin in the things of this world. But if any commit transgressions beyond these things, he shall then have no further forgiveness.

JEROME; Or understand it of four hundred and ninety times, that He bids us forgive our brother so oft.

RABAN; It is one thing to give pardon to a brother when he seeks it, that he may live with us in social charity, as Joseph to his brethren; and another to a hostile foe, that we may wish him good, and if we can do him good, as David mourning for Saul.

23. Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened to a certain king, which would take account of his servants.
24. And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought to him, which owed him ten thousand talents.
25. But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.
26. The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.
27. Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.
28. But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellow-servants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that you owe.
29. And his fellow servant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.
30. And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.
31. So when his fellow servants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told to their lord all that was done.
32. Then his lord, after that he had called him, said to him, O you wicked servant, I forgave you all that debt, because you begged me:
33. Should not you also have had compassion on your fellow servant, even as I had pity on you?
34. And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due to him.
35. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also to you, if you from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.

CHRYS; That none should think that the Lord had enjoined something great and burdensome in saying that we must forgive till seventy times seven, He adds a parable.

JEROME; For it is customary with the Syrians, especially they of Palestine, to add a parable to what they speak, that what their hearers might not retain simply, and in itself, the instance and similitude may be the means of retaining.

ORIGEN; The Son of God, as He is wisdom, righteousness, and truth, so is He a kingdom; not indeed any of those which are beneath, but all those which are above, reigning over those in whose senses reigns justice and the other virtues; these are made of heaven because they bear the image of the heavenly. This kingdom of heaven then, i.e. the Son of God, when He was made in the likeness of sinful flesh, was then like to a king, in uniting man to himself.

REMIG; Or, by the kingdom of heaven is reasonably understood the holy Church, in which the Lord works what He speaks of in this parable. By the man is sometimes represented the Father, as in that, The kingdom of heaven is like to a king who made a marriage for his son; and sometimes the Son; but here we may take it for both, the Father and the Son, who are one God. God is called a King, inasmuch as He created and governs all things.

ORIGEN; The servants, in these parables, are only they who are employed in dispensing the word, and to whom this business is committed.

REMIG; Or, by the servants of this King are signified all mankind whom He has created for His own praise, and to whom He gave the law of nature; He takes account with them, when He would look into each man's manners, life, and deeds, that He may render to each according to that He has done; as it follows, And when He had begun to reckon, one was brought to Him which owed Him ten thousand talents.

ORIGEN; The King takes account of our whole life then, when we must all be presented before the judgment-seat of Christ We mean not this so as that any should think that the business itself must needs require a long time. For God, when He will scrutinize the minds of all, will by some indescribable power cause every thing that every man has done to pass speedily before the mind of each. He says, And when he began to take account, because the beginning of the judgment is that it begin from the house of God. At His beginning to take account there is brought to Him one who owes Him many talents; one, that is, who had wrought great evils; one on whom much had been enjoined' and had yet et brought no gain; who perhaps had destroyed as many men as he owed talents; one who was therefore become a debtor of many talents, because he had followed the woman sitting upon a talent of lead, whose name is Iniquity.

JEROME; I know that some interpret the man who he owed the ten thousand talents to be the devil, and by his wife and children who were to be sold when he persevered in his wickedness, understand foolishness, and hurtful thoughts. For as wisdom is called the wife of the righteous man, so the wife of the unrighteous and the sinner is called foolishness. But how the Lord remits to the devil ten thousand talents, and how he would not remit ten denarii to us his fellow-servants, of this is there its no ecclesiastical interpretation, nor is it to be admitted by thoughtful men.

AUG; Therefore let us say, that because the Law is set forth in ten precepts, the ten thousand talents which he owed denote all sins which can be done under the Law.

REMIG; Man who sinned of his own will and choice, has no power to rise again by his own endeavor, and has not wherewith to pay, because he finds nothing in himself by which he may loose himself from his sins; whence it follows, And when he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. The fool's wife is folly, and the pleasure or lust of the flesh.

AUG; This signifies that the transgressor of the decalogue deserves punishment for his rusts and evil deeds; and that is his price; for the price for which they sell is the punishment of him that is damned.

CHRYS; This command issued not of cruelty, but of unspeakable tenderness. For he seeks by these terrors to bring him to plead that he be not sold, which fell out, as he shows when he adds, The servant therefore fell down and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.

REMIG; That he says, falling down, shows how the sinner humbled himself, and offered amends. Have patience with me, expresses the sinner's prayer, begging respite, and space to correct his error. Abundant is the bounty of God, and His clemency to sinners converted, seeing He is ever ready to forgive sins by baptism or penitence, as it follows, But the lord of that servant had mercy upon him, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.

CHRYS; See the exuberance of heavenly love! The servant asked only a brief respite, but he gives him more than he had asked, a full remittance and canceling of the w hole debt. He was minded to have forgiven him from the very first, but he would not have it to be of his own mere motion, but also of the other's suit, that he might not depart without a gift. But he did not remit the debt till he had taken account, because he would have him know how great debts he set him free of, that by this he should at the least be made more merciful to his fellow servants. And indeed as far as what has gone he was worthy to be accepted; for he made confession, and promised that he would pay the debt, and fell down and begged, and confessed the greatness of his debt. But his after deeds were unworthy of the former, for it follows, But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellow-servants which owed him a hundred denarii.

AUG; That He says he owed him a hundred denarii is taken from the same number, ten, the number of the Law. For a hundred times a hundred are ten thousand, and ten times ten are a hundred; and those ten thousand talents and these hundred denarii are still keeping to the number of the Law; in both of them you find sins. Both are debtors, both are suitors for remission; so every man is himself a debtor to God, and has his brother his debtor.

CHRYS; But there is as great difference between sins committed against men, and sins committed against God, as between ten thousand talents and a hundred denarii; yes rather there is still greater difference. This appears from the difference of the persons, and from the fewness of the offenders. For when we are seen of man we withhold and are loath to sin, but we cease not daily though God see us, but act and speak all things fearlessly. Not by this only are our sins against God shown to be more heinous, but also by reason of the benefits which we have received from Him; He gave us being, and has done all things in our behalf, has breathed into us a rational soul, has sent His Son, has opened heaven to us, and made us His sons. If then we should every day die for Him, could we make Him any worthy return? By no means; it should rather redound again to our advantage. But, on the contrary, w e offend against His laws.

REMIG; So by him who owed ten thousand talents are represented those that commit the greater crimes; by the debtor of a hundred denarii those who commit the lesser.

JEROME; That this may be made plainer, let us speak it in instances. If any one of you shall have committed an adultery, a homicide, or a sacrilege, these greater sins of ten thousand talents shall be remitted when you beg for it, if you also shall remit lesser offenses to those that trespass against you.

AUG; But this unworthy, unjust servants would not render that which had been rendered to him, for it follows, And he laid hands on him, and held him by the throat, saying, Pay me that you owe.

REMIG; That is, he pressed him hardly, that he might exact vengeance from him.

ORIGEN; He therefore, as I suppose, took him by the throat, because he had come forth from the king; for he would not have so handled his fellow servant, if he had not gone forth from the king.

CHRYS; By saying, as he went out, He shows that it was not after long time, but immediately; while the favor he had received still sounded in his ears, he abused to wickedness the liberty his lord had accorded him. What the other did is added; And his fellow-servant fell down, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.

ORIGEN; Observe the exactness of Scripture; the servant who owed many talents fell down, and worshipped the king; he who owed the hundred denarii falling down, did not worship, but besought his fellow servant, saying, Have patience. But the ungrateful servant did not even respect the very words which had saved himself, for it follows, but he would not.

AUG; That is, he nourished such thoughts towards him that he sought his punishment. But he went his way.

REMIG; That is, his wrath was the rather inflamed, to exact vengeance of him; And he cast him into prison, until he should pay the debt; that is, he seized his brother, and exacted vengeance of him.

CHRYS; Observe the Lord's tenderness, and the servant's cruelty; the one for ten thousand talents, the other for ten denarii; the one a suitor to his fellow, the other to his lord; the one obtained entire remission,, the other sought only respite, but he got it not They who owed nothing, grieved with him; his fellow servants seeing what was done, were very sorry.

AUG; By the fellow-servants is understood the Church, which binds one and looses another.

REMIG; Or perhaps they represent the Angels, or the preachers of the holy Church, or any of the faithful, who when they see a brother whose sins are forgiven refusing to forgive his fellow-servant, they are sorrowful over his perdition. And they came, and told their lord what was as done. They came not in body, but in spirit. To tell their Lord, is to show the woe and sorrow of the heart in their carriage. It follows, Then his lord called him. He called him by the sentence of death, and bade him pass out of this world, and said to him, you wicked servant, I forgave you all that debt, because you begged me.

CHRYS; When he owed him ten thousand talents, he did not call him wicked, nor did he at all chide him, but had mercy on him; but now when he had been ungenerous to his fellow-servant, then he says to him, you wicked servant; and this is what is said, Ought you not to have had mercy upon your fellow-servant.

REMIG; And it is to be known, that we read no answer made by that servant to his lord; by which it is shown us, that in the day of judgment, and altogether after this life, all excusing of ourselves shall be cut off.

CHRYS; Because kindness had not mended him, it remains that he be corrected by punishment; whence it follows, And the lord of that servant was as angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay the whole debt. He said not merely, Delivered him, but was angry, this he had not said before; when his Lord commanded that he should be sold; for that was not in wrath, but in love, for his correction; now this is a sentence of penalty and punishment.

REMIG; For God is said then to be wroth, when he takes vengeance on sinners. Torturers are intended for the demons, who are always ready to take up lost souls, and torture them in the pangs of eternal punishment. Will any who is once sunk into everlasting condemnation ever come to find season of repentance, and a way to escape? Never; that until is put for infinity; and the meaning is, He shall be ever paying, and shall never quit the debt, but shall be ever under punishment.

CHRYS; By this is shown that his punishment shall be increasing and eternal, and that he shall never pay. And however irrevocable are the graces and callings of God, yet wickedness has that force, that it seems to break even this law.

AUG; For God says, Forgive, and you shall be forgiven; I have first forgiven, forgive you then after Me; for if you forgive not, I will call you back, and will require again all that I had remitted to you. For Christ neither deceives nor is deceived; and He adds here, This will my heavenly Father do to you, if you from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses. It is better that you should cry out with your mouth, and forgive in your heart, than that you should speak smoothly, and be unrelenting in your heart. For the Lord adds, From your hearts, to the end that though, out of affection you put him to discipline, yet gentleness should not depart out of your heart. What is more beneficial than the knife of the surgeon? He is rough with the sore that the man may be healed; should he be tender with the sore, the man were lost.

JEROME; Also this, from your hearts, is added to take away all feigned reconciliations. Therefore the Lord's command to Peter under this similitude of the king and his servant who owed him ten thousand talents, and was forgiven by his lord upon his entreaty, is, that he also should forgive his fellow-servants their lesser trespasses.

ORIGEN; He seeks to instruct us, that we should be ready to show clemency to those who have done us harm, especially if they offer amends, and plead to have forgiveness.

RABAN; Allegorically; The servant here who owed the ten thousand talents, is the Jewish people bound to the Ten Commandments in the Law. These the Lord oft forgave their trespasses, when being in difficulties they besought His mercy; but when they were set free, they exacted the utmost with great severity from all their debtors; and of the gentile people which they hated, they required circumcision and the ceremonies of the Law; yes, the Prophets and Apostles they barbarously put to death. For all this the Lord gave them over into the hands of the Romans as to evil spirits, who should punish them with eternal tortures.

Catena Aurea Matthew 18


36 posted on 09/17/2017 4:25:03 PM PDT by annalex (fear them not)
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To: annalex


The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant

The ethical symmetry of the parable is enhanced here by the visual symmetry of the icon, where Christ is shown two times to offer both mercy and justice.

37 posted on 09/17/2017 4:25:50 PM PDT by annalex (fear them not)
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To: All
Doctors of the Catholic Church

Saint Robert Bellarmine

Saint Robert Bellarmine

Also known as

Memorial

Profile

Third of ten children of Vincenzo Bellarmine and Cinzia Cervini, a family of impoverished nobles. His mother, a niece of Pope Marcellus II, was dedicated to almsgiving, prayer, meditation, fasting, and mortification. Robert suffered assorted health problems all his life. Educated by Jesuits as a boy. Joined the Jesuits on 20 September 1560 over the opposition of his father who wanted Robert to enter politics. Studied at the Collegio Romano from 1560 to 1563, Jesuit centers in Florence, Italy in 1563, then in Mondovi, Piedmont, the University of Padua in 1567 and 1568, and the University of Louvain, Flanders in 1569. Ordained on Palm Sunday, 1570 in Ghent, Belgium.

Professor of theology at the University of Louvain from 1570 to 1576. A the request of Pope Gregory XIII, he taught polemical theology at the Collegio Romano from 1576 to 1587. While there he wroteDisputationes de Controversiis Christianae Fidei adversus hujus temporis hereticos, the most complete work of the day to defend Catholicism against Protestant attack. Spiritual director of the Roman College from 1588. Taught Jesuit students and other children; wrote a children‘s catechism, Dottrina cristiana breve. Wrote a catechism for teachers, Dichiarazione piu copiosa della dottrina cristiana. Confessor of Saint Aloysius Gonzaga until his death, and then worked for the boy‘s canonization. In 1590 he worked in France to defend the interests of the Church during a period of turmoil and conflict. Member of the commission for the 1592 revision of the Vulgate Bible. Rector of the Collegio Romano from 1592 to 1594. Jesuit provincial in Naples, Italy from 1594 to 1597. Theologian to Pope Clement VIII from 1597 to 1599. Examiner of bishops and consultor of the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition in 1597; strongly concerned with discipline among the bishops. Created Cardinalpriest on 3 March 1598 by Pope Clement VIII; he lived an austere life in Rome, giving most of his money to the poor. At one point he used the tapestries in his living quarters to clothe the poor, saying that “the walls won’t catch cold.”

Defended the Apostolic See against anticlericals in Venice, Italy, and the political tenets of King James I of England. Wrote exhaustive works against heresies of the day. Took a fundamentally democratic position – authority originates with God, is vested in the people, who entrust it to fit rulers, a concept which brought him trouble with the kings of both England and France. Spiritual father of Saint Aloysius Gonzaga. Helped Saint Francis de Sales obtain formal approval of the Visitation Order. Noted preacher. Archbishop of Capua, Italy on 18 March 1602. Part of the two conclaves of 1605. Involved in disputes between the Republic of Venice and the Vatican in 1606 and 1607 concerning clerical discipline and Vatican authority. Involved in the controversy between King James I and the Vatican in 1607 and 1609 concerning control of the Church in England. WroteTractatus de potestate Summi Pontificis in rebus temporalibus adversus Gulielmum Barclaeum in opposition to Gallicanism. Opposed action against Galileo Galilei in 1615, and established a friendly correspondence with him, but was forced to deliver the order for the scientist to submit to the Church. Part of the conclave of 1621, and was considered for Pope. Theological advisor to Pope Paul V. Head of the Vatican library. Prefect of the Sacred Congregation of the Rites. Prefect of the Sacred Congregation of the Index. Proclaimed a Doctor of the Church on 17 September 1931.

Born

Died

Venerated

Beatified

Canonized

Patronage

Additional Information

38 posted on 09/17/2017 4:43:44 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
The Word Among Us

Meditation: Matthew 18:21-35

24th Sunday in Ordinary Time

How often must I forgive? (Matthew 18:21)

In his very first Sunday homily as the Holy Father, Pope Francis proclaimed, “This is the Lord’s most powerful message: mercy” (March 17, 2013). Since that day, he has repeated over and over the marvelous truth that God’s mercy has no bounds. That’s precisely the problem with the heartless servant in today’s Gospel: his mercy had limited, clearly defined boundaries.

How boundless is God’s mercy? The best way to answer that is to consider what our lives would be like without it. Imagine a world with no tenderness, no forgiveness, no compassion. Imagine being bound in your sin and selfishness, your guilt and shame, with no way out. Now imagine God sacrificing himself not only to rescue you, but to offer you the promise of eternal life with him in heaven. That’s how boundless his mercy is. That’s how deeply he loves you.

Struck by the depth of God’s love, how can we do anything but bow down to him in worship and show that same mercy to the people around us?

Mercy is not just an abstract idea or a nice theory. It’s a concrete reality. It’s not just a message that we can choose to live out when it’s convenient for us. God’s mercy for us is meant to be at the heart of how we think and act toward each other. It’s meant to be the characteristic that sets us apart in a world caught up in self-righteousness, division, and unforgiveness. It’s the best way we can reveal God’s love and invite people to taste it themselves.

Peter asked Jesus, “How often must I forgive?” (Matthew 18:21). He was looking for a solid number of times, after which he was off the hook. He was asking about the rules. But for the one who has grasped the depths of God’s mercy, rules and limits no longer matter.

May we all taste this mercy more deeply today so that we can become more merciful as well.

“Thank you, Jesus, for showering me with your love. Lord, help me to be more merciful.”

Sirach 27:30–28:7
Psalm 103:1-4, 9-12
Romans 14:7-9

39 posted on 09/17/2017 4:46:03 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
A Christian Pilgrim

SEVENTY TIMES SEVEN TIMES

16 Sep

SEVENTY TIMES SEVEN TIMES   

(A biblical reflection on the 24th ORDINARY SUNDAY [YEAR A], 17 September 2017)

 

Gospel Reading: Matthew 18:21-35 

First Reading: Sirach 27:30-28:9; Psalms: Psalm 103:1-4,9-12; Second Reading: Romans 14:7-9 

The Scripture Text

Then Peter came up and said to Him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times? Jesus said to him, “ I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.

“Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began the reckoning, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents; and as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ And out of pity for him the lord of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. But that same  servant, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and seizing him by the throat he said, ‘Pay what you owe.’ So his fellow servants fell down and besought him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ He refused and went and put him in prison till he should pay the debt. When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their lord all that had taken place. Then his lord summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debat because you besought me; and should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ And in anger his lord delivered him to the jailers, till he should pay all his debt. So also My heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.” (Matthew 18:21-35 RSV) 

In the first two chapters of the book of the Prophet Amos, we find God choosing not to punish various nations until they commit their fourth offense. God patiently forgives them on the first three occasions but his wrath flares up after that. Since we cannot expect a human being to be more patient and merciful than God, the rabbis of Jesus’ day concluded that no one had an obligation to forgive anyone more than three times.

Peter came out of last week’s Gospel looking pretty bad, but in today’s reading he tries to repair his tattered image by asking Jesus how many times he should forgive his brother. Being a good Jew, Peter knew he could not be expected to forgive anyone more than three times.

Without waiting for Jesus’ response, Peter asks if seven times is enough. He probably was looking for a pat on the back for being very merciful, and he undoubtedly wanted Jesus to praise him for his willingness to go beyond what was expected of him. Instead, Jesus goes one step further and tells him to be ready to forgive seventy times seven times.

Jesus did not literally mean we should forgive others 490 times (70×7=490). The phrase “seventy times seven” was symbolic of a great number, meaning we should always be ready to forgive. There must be no limit to our mercy.

Notice that the rabbis reasoned that the number of times a person should forgive is dependent on the number of times they believed God forgives us. Since God supposedly forgives three times, humans also should forgive three times. In the parables in today’s Gospel, Jesus’ reverses this logic by teaching that God’s forgiveness depends on our willingness to forgive others. If we forgive those who have offended us, God also will forgive us. However, if we hold a grudge or seek revenge, we cannot expect God to show us mercy. We have to forgive before being forgiven.

(Source: Jerome J. Sabatowich, Cycling Through the Gospels – Gospel Commentaries for Cycles A, B, and C, pages 92-93.)

Short Prayer:  Our Lord Jesus Christ, thank You for Your death, which has brought me life. May all sinners know Your mercy and forgiveness. May our voices be one in praising You forever! Amen.


40 posted on 09/17/2017 4:48:40 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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