Monday of the Second Week in Lent
Lectionary: 230
Reading 1
Daniel 9:4b-10
"Lord, great and awesome God,
you who keep your merciful covenant toward those who love you
and observe your commandments!
We have sinned, been wicked and done evil;
we have rebelled and departed from your commandments and your laws.
We have not obeyed your servants the prophets,
who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes,
our fathers, and all the people of the land.
Justice, O Lord, is on your side;
we are shamefaced even to this day:
we, the men of Judah, the residents of Jerusalem,
and all Israel, near and far,
in all the countries to which you have scattered them
because of their treachery toward you.
O LORD, we are shamefaced, like our kings, our princes, and our fathers,
for having sinned against you.
But yours, O Lord, our God, are compassion and forgiveness!
Yet we rebelled against you
and paid no heed to your command, O LORD, our God,
to live by the law you gave us through your servants the prophets."
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 79:8, 9, 11 and 13
R. (see 103:10a) Lord, do not deal with us according to our sins.
Remember not against us the iniquities of the past;
may your compassion quickly come to us,
for we are brought very low.
R. Lord, do not deal with us according to our sins.
Help us, O God our savior,
because of the glory of your name;
Deliver us and pardon our sins
for your name's sake.
R. Lord, do not deal with us according to our sins.
Let the prisoners' sighing come before you;
with your great power free those doomed to death.
Then we, your people and the sheep of your pasture,
will give thanks to you forever;
through all generations we will declare your praise.
R. Lord, do not deal with us according to our sins.
Verse Before the Gospel
See John 6:63c, 68c
Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life;
you have the words of everlasting life.
Gospel
Luke 6:36-38
Jesus said to his disciples:
"Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
"Stop judging and you will not be judged.
Stop condemning and you will not be condemned.
Forgive and you will be forgiven.
Give and gifts will be given to you;
a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing,
will be poured into your lap.
For the measure with which you measure
will in return be measured out to you."
Reflection 1
Catholic Daily Reflections
Mercy Goes Both Ways
Jesus said to his disciples: “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven.” Luke 6:36–37
Saint Ignatius of Loyola, in his guide for a thirty-day retreat, has the retreatant spend the first week of the retreat focusing upon sin, judgment, death and hell. At first, this can seem very uninspiring. But the wisdom of this approach is that after a week of these meditations, retreatants come to a deep realization of just how much they need the mercy and forgiveness of God. They see their need more clearly, and a deep humility is fostered within their soul as they see their guilt and turn to God for His mercy.
But mercy goes both ways. It is part of the very essence of mercy that it can only be received if it is also given. In the Gospel passage above, Jesus gives us a very clear command about judgment, condemnation, mercy and forgiveness. Essentially, if we want mercy and forgiveness, then we must offer mercy and forgiveness. If we are judgmental and condemning, then we will also be judged and condemned. These words are very clear.
Perhaps one of the reasons that many people struggle with being judgmental and condemning of others is because they lack a true awareness of their own sin and their own need for forgiveness. We live in a world that often rationalizes sin and downplays the seriousness of it. That’s why the teaching of Saint Ignatius is so important for us today. We need to rekindle a sense of the seriousness of our sin. This is not done simply to create guilt and shame. It’s done to foster a desire for mercy and forgiveness.
If you can grow in a deeper awareness of your own sin before God, one of the effects will be that it is then easier to be less judgmental and condemning of others. A person who sees his sin is more apt to be merciful to other sinners. But a person who struggles with self-righteousness will most certainly also struggle with being judgmental and condemning.
Reflect, today, upon your own sin. Spend time trying to understand how ugly sin is and try to grow in a healthy disdain for it. As you do, and as you beg our Lord for His mercy, pray also that you will be able to offer that same mercy you receive from God to others. As mercy flows from Heaven to your own soul, it must then also be shared. Share the mercy of God with those all around you and you will discover the true value and power of this Gospel teaching of our Lord.
Reflection 2
One Bread, One Body
TOO BUSY TO JUDGE?
“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Pardon, and you shall be pardoned. Give, and it shall be given to you.” —Luke 6:37-38
The Lord commands us not to judge or condemn others. However, we should recognize sins and follow the directions of the Lord so sinners might have the chance to be free of sin and its harmful consequences (Mt 18:15-17). Then we should leave the judging and sentencing up to God.
We are called to warn, intercede for, teach, prophesy to, and serve sinners. Jesus invites us to remove the specks from others’ eyes — to call them to repent after we let others help us to repent (Lk 6:42). We are ministers of reconciliation (2 Cor 5:18). If we minister well, the Lord won’t have much condemning to do; then He will judge us and other sinners ready for eternal happiness with Him.
Not judging or condemning does not mean being passive, doing nothing, or being permissive. Rather, we must bring back those straying from the Truth (Jas 5:19-20).
Prayer: Jesus, give me the grace to oppose sin and love sinners.
Promise: “Lord, great and awesome God, You...keep Your merciful covenant toward those who love You and observe Your commandments!” —Dn 9:4
Praise: After having an abortion, Sarah felt heavily laden with guilt. Confessing her sin, she received God’s forgiveness and healing.
Reflection 3
Fr. Zacharias MATTAM SDB
(Bangalore, India)
“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful”
Today we ask ourselves, how does a Christian behave towards his brothers and sisters? Showing the same compassion and kindness shown to him by the heavenly Father: “Be merciful just as your heavenly Father is merciful” (Lk 6:36). Jesus said, “I did not come to condemn the world but to save the world” (Jn 12:47). Jesus did not judge even His own murderers. Instead He was thinking well of them and excusing them and praying for them: “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do” (Lk 23:34). As His disciples, we are invited to be like the Master.
Jesus says, in Mathew’s gospel: “Stop judging, that you may not be judged. Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye?” (Mt 7:1.3). The wooden beam is “the non-love”, the “pride” and “resentment” in our heart. These vices are like a wooden beam preventing us from seeing the fault of our brother from its proper perspective, which is more serious than the fault itself (after all, a splinter!), and therefore those attitudes are what should be banished first. It is only with love that we can truly correct another as “Love bears all things” (1Cor 13:7).
When Jesus says: “Do not judge”, Jesus is not prohibiting the exercise of our faculty of discernment, nor are we asked to approve everything that our brother does. What He is forbidding is to attribute an evil intention to the person for acting thus. Only God knows what is in the heart of a person; “God does not see as a mortal, who sees the appearance. The Lord looks into the heart” (1Sam 16:7) Furthermore, to judge is God’s prerogative, which we usurp when we judge our brother.
What is important in Christianity is love: “Love one another as I have loved you” (Jn 13:34). This love is poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit (cf. Rm 5:5). In the Eucharist Christ gives us His Heart as a gift and we can love everyone with His Heart and be merciful as the Heavenly Father is merciful.
Prayers
My most merciful Jesus, I thank You for Your infinite mercy. Help me to see clearly my sin so that I, in turn, may see my need for Your mercy. As I do, dear Lord, I pray that my heart will be open to that mercy so that I can both receive it and share it with others. Make me a true instrument of Your divine grace. Jesus, I trust in You.
Lord Jesus, your love brings freedom, pardon, and joy. Transform my heart with your love that nothing may make me lose my temper, ruffle my peace, take away my joy, or make me bitter towards anyone.
Daily Reflections on Divine Mercy
Reflection 57: A Fire Within Your Soul
Is it possible to know that someone has a deep interior life of prayer? Even though this is “interior” and is a spiritual reality, is it possible to sense this externally? Most certainly it is. In fact, the deeper one’s life of prayer the more that this interior life will shine forth for others to see (See Diary #172).
How about you? What does your soul radiate? When people see you, what do they sense? Certainly our perceptions of people can be wrong at times, but when God is alive in an abundant way, those who have eyes to see will see. Those who are hungry for God will perceive His presence in your life and be fed by Him through you. Reflect upon how radiant your interior life is. And reflect upon whether or not that burning flame within is shining forth for others to see. And if it is not burning brightly and intensely, today is a good day to kindle that fire within.
Lord, I invite You to come live in my soul. I invite You to fan into flame the spark of faith that I have. May Your love and Mercy become a blazing fire in me so that I may be consumed by You and so that others may sense Your love through me. Jesus, I trust in You.
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