Thursday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 368
Reading 1
Sirach 48:1-14
Like a fire there appeared the prophet Elijah
whose words were as a flaming furnace.
Their staff of bread he shattered,
in his zeal he reduced them to straits;
By the Lord’s word he shut up the heavens
and three times brought down fire.
How awesome are you, Elijah, in your wondrous deeds!
Whose glory is equal to yours?
You brought a dead man back to life
from the nether world, by the will of the LORD.
You sent kings down to destruction,
and easily broke their power into pieces.
You brought down nobles, from their beds of sickness.
You heard threats at Sinai,
at Horeb avenging judgments.
You anointed kings who should inflict vengeance,
and a prophet as your successor.
You were taken aloft in a whirlwind of fire,
in a chariot with fiery horses.
You were destined, it is written, in time to come
to put an end to wrath before the day of the LORD,
To turn back the hearts of fathers toward their sons,
and to re-establish the tribes of Jacob.
Blessed is he who shall have seen you
And who falls asleep in your friendship.
For we live only in our life,
but after death our name will not be such.
O Elijah, enveloped in the whirlwind!
Then Elisha, filled with the twofold portion of his spirit,
wrought many marvels by his mere word.
During his lifetime he feared no one,
nor was any man able to intimidate his will.
Nothing was beyond his power;
beneath him flesh was brought back into life.
In life he performed wonders,
and after death, marvelous deeds.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 97:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7
R. (12a) Rejoice in the Lord, you just!
The LORD is king; let the earth rejoice;
let the many isles be glad.
Clouds and darkness are round about him,
justice and judgment are the foundation of his throne.
R. Rejoice in the Lord, you just!
Fire goes before him
and consumes his foes round about.
His lightnings illumine the world;
the earth sees and trembles.
R. Rejoice in the Lord, you just!
The mountains melt like wax before the LORD,
before the Lord of all the earth.
The heavens proclaim his justice,
and all peoples see his glory.
R. Rejoice in the Lord, you just!
All who worship graven things are put to shame,
who glory in the things of nought;
all gods are prostrate before him.
R. Rejoice in the Lord, you just!
Alleluia
Romans 8:15BC
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
You have received a spirit of adoption as sons
through which we cry: Abba! Father!
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Matthew 6:7-15
Jesus said to his disciples:
“In praying, do not babble like the pagans,
who think that they will be heard because of their many words.
Do not be like them.
Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
“This is how you are to pray:
‘Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy Kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.’
“If you forgive others their transgressions,
your heavenly Father will forgive you.
But if you do not forgive others,
neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.”
Reflection 1
Catholic Daily Reflections
Forgiving Others
“If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.” Matthew 6:14–15
It’s truly amazing how often our Lord exhorts us to forgive. Much of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, from which we have been reading all week, continually calls us to offer mercy and forgiveness to others. And in the passage above from the end of today’s Gospel, Jesus offers us the consequences of not heeding His exhortations.
This passage is a sort of addendum to the “Our Father” prayer which immediately precedes it. The Our Father prayer gives us seven petitions, one of them being “forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.” It’s interesting to note that as soon as Jesus taught us this prayer with its seven petitions, He then re-emphasised one of those petitions by stating it again as is seen in the passage quoted above. This added emphasis should assure us of the seriousness of this petition.
At first, Jesus simply tells us to pray for forgiveness “as we forgive.” But He then makes it clear that if we fail to do so, we will not be forgiven ourselves. This should highly motivate us to make every effort possible to completely forgive others from the deepest depths of our hearts.
Who do you need to forgive? Forgiveness can be a confusing endeavor at times. The act of forgiveness gets confusing when our feelings do not reflect the choice we make in our will. It is a common experience that when we make the interior choice to forgive another, we still feel anger toward them. But these disordered feelings should not deter us nor should we allow them to cause doubt in what we need to do. Forgiveness is first an act of the will. It’s a prayerful choice to say to another that you do not hold their sin against them. Forgiveness does not pretend that no sin was committed. On the contrary, if there were no sin committed, then there would be no need for forgiveness. So the very act of forgiving is also an acknowledgment of the sin that needs to be forgiven.
When you make the choice to forgive another, and if your feelings do not immediately follow after, keep forgiving them in your heart. Pray for them. Try to change the way you think about them. Do not dwell upon the hurt that they have inflicted. Think, instead, about their dignity as a person, the love God has for them and the love you must continue to foster for them. Forgive, forgive and forgive again. Never stop and never tire of this act of mercy. If you do this, you may even discover that your feelings and passions eventually align with the choice you have made.
Reflect, today, upon any lingering feelings of anger you experience. Address those feelings by the free and total choice to forgive the person with whom you are angry. Do so now, later today, tomorrow and on and on. Go on the offensive against anger and bitterness by overwhelming it with your personal act of forgiveness and you will find that God will begin to free you of the heavy burden that a lack of forgiveness imposes.
Reflection 2
One Bread, One Body
IDENTIFICATION PAPER
“How awesome are you, Elijah! Whose glory is equal to yours?” —Sirach 48:4
Elijah was “awesome.” His specialty was bringing down fire from heaven (Sir 48:3). He began the process by which the wicked kingdom of Ahab and Jezebel was destroyed (see Sir 48:6; 1 Kgs 19:15ff). The mighty Elijah appropriately left this earth by being “enveloped in the whirlwind” (Sir 48:12).
We may think that Elijah is “out of our league.” Probably most of us are not often described as “awesome.” However, the Lord describes Elijah as “only a man” like the rest of us (Jas 5:17). In fact, we who are in Christ Jesus are not only like Elijah but greater (Mt 11:11, 14). Moreover, we who believe in Jesus are not only greater than Elijah, but we can do greater works than even Jesus did (Jn 14:12). We who live for Jesus are awesome, chosen, holy, royal, priestly, beloved children of God (see 1 Pt 2:9; 1 Jn 3:1), who even share in God’s divine nature (2 Pt 1:4).
Know yourself; be yourself; be new creations in Jesus (Gal 6:15).
Prayer: Father, “what is man that You should be mindful of him?” (Ps 8:5)
Promise: “Give us today our daily bread, and forgive us the wrong we have done as we forgive those who wrong us.” —Mt 6:11-12
Praise: Ron witnessed about Jesus in his job interview. The interviewer accepted Jesus and hired Ron.
Reflection 3
By Fr. Martin Hogan
Jesus’ giving of what has come to be known as the Lord’s Prayer is to be found in two gospels, Matthew and Luke. In Matthew’s gospel Jesus prefaces the giving of the prayer by calling on his disciples not to use many words, not to babble, when praying to God, as the pagans do. Jesus is referring to the pagan practice of bombarding the gods with various formulae, with the intention of forcing the gods to behave in a way that is favourable to humankind. However, the disciples of Jesus are not to relate to their heavenly Father in that way. God is not there to be manipulated by our many words. Rather, as the opening petitions of the Lord’s Prayer suggests, we begin by surrendering to whatever God may want, to God’s purpose for our world and our lives. What matters is God’s name, God’s kingdom, God’s will. We don’t try to force God to do what we want; we surrender to what God wants. After doing that, as the prayer indicates, we acknowledge our dependence on God for our basic needs - for food for the day, for forgiveness, for strength when our faith is put to the test. The Lord’s Prayer is powerful in its simplicity. It is not simply one prayer among many; it is a teaching on how to pray always.
Prayers
My forgiving Lord, You offer the perfection of forgiveness to me and call me to do the same toward others. I pray for Your forgiveness in my life. I am sorry for my sin and beg for Your mercy. In exchange for this holy gift, I pledge to You today to forgive everyone who has sinned against me. I especially forgive those with whom I remain angry. Free me from this anger, dear Lord, so that I may reap the full benefits of Your mercy in my life. Jesus, I trust in You.
Father in heaven, you have given me a mind to know you, a will to serve you, and a heart to love you. Give me today the grace and strength to embrace your holy will and fill my heart with your love that all my intentions and actions may be pleasing to you. Give me the grace to be charitable in thought, kind in deed, and loving in speech towards all.
Daily Reflections on Divine Mercy
Reflection 171: Comparing Earth to Heaven
Try to imagine what you will think about this time on Earth when you get to Heaven. Will you miss this life? Will you want to return? Will you wish you made more money while here or had more worldly success? Most likely not. Compared to Heaven, this world is pitiful. That doesn’t mean that our lives cannot be glorious here, it just means that Heaven will be infinitely more glorious. For that reason, we must constantly put our eyes upon building true treasure that will last forever. Our only concern must be Heaven and doing all that the Lord calls us to do here and now so as to attain that glory. Do not spend one moment wasting time on things that will mean nothing to you in Heaven. Instead, spend all your time “building your Heavenly mansion” through a life of pure faith and charity, growing in an immense love of God. You will never regret increasing your love of God, here and now, when you get to Heaven (See Diary #899).
What occupies your daily thinking and dreams? What is the object of your hope and greatest desire? Try to honestly assess this and do not be afraid to admit it if you discover that your primary goals are those things that are passing and, ultimately, unimportant. As you discover this, turn your eyes to Heaven and to the love of God. Consider practical ways that you can refocus your life so that it is fully given to the purpose you were made for, namely, to love God with your whole heart, mind, soul and strength and to love your neighbor as yourself. Unless this is your central goal in life, you have the wrong goal. Pray and surrender to God and redirect all things to Him.
Lord, I desire to make You and Your holy Will the central focus of my life. I choose nothing other than to love You and my neighbor. Help me to be diligent in building Your Kingdom on Earth so that I may enjoy Your Kingdom eternally in Heaven. Jesus, I trust in You.
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