DAILY READINGS & REFLECTION
SEPTEMBER 17, 2023
TWENTY-FOURTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
(FEAST OF THE SACRED STIGMATA OF SAINT FRANCIS OF ASSISI)
(OPTIONAL MEMORIAL OF SAINT ROBERT BELLARMINE, BISHOP AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH)
FIRST READING
SIRACH 27:30--28:9 OR (WISDOM 7:7-10, 15-16)
27 30 Anger and wrath, these also are abominations, and the sinful man will possess them. 28 1 He that takes vengeance will suffer vengeance from the Lord, and he will firmly establish his sins. 2 Forgive your neighbor the wrong he has done, and then your sins will be pardoned when you pray. 3 Does a man harbor anger against another, and yet seek for healing from the Lord? 4 Does he have no mercy toward a man like himself, and yet pray for his own sins? 5 If he himself, being flesh, maintains wrath, who will make expiation for his sins? 6 Remember the end of your life, and cease from enmity, remember destruction and death, and be true to the commandments. 7 Remember the commandments, and do not be angry with your neighbor; remember the covenant of the Most High, and overlook ignorance. 8 Refrain from strife, and you will lessen sins; for a man given to anger will kindle strife, 9 and a sinful man will disturb friends and inject enmity among those who are at peace.
The Word of the Lord
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RESPONSORIAL PSALM
PSALMS 102(103):1-4, 9-12 OR (PSALMS 19:8-11)
Response: The Lord is compassion and love, slow to anger and rich in mercy.
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and all that is within me, bless his holy name!
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits.
R. The Lord is compassion and love, slow to anger and rich in mercy.
Who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the Pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy.
R. The Lord is compassion and love, slow to anger and rich in mercy.
He will not always chide,
nor will he keep his anger for ever.
He does not deal with us according to our sins,
nor requite us according to our iniquities.
R. The Lord is compassion and love, slow to anger and rich in mercy.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
R. The Lord is compassion and love, slow to anger and rich in mercy.
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SECOND READING
ROMANS 14:7-9
7 None of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. 8 If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. 9 For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.
The Word of the Lord
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GOSPEL
Lord, how often shall I forgive my brother?
MATTHEW 18:21-35 OR (MATTHEW 7:21-29)
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."
The Gospel of the Lord
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REFLECTION
DAILY QUOTE FROM THE EARLY CHURCH FATHERS
How often shall I forgive? by Hilary of Poitiers (315-367 AD)
"When Peter asked him whether he should forgive his brother sinning against him up to seven times, the Lord replied, 'Not up to seven times but up to seventy times seven times In every way he teaches us to be like him in humility and goodness. In weakening and breaking the impulses of our rampant passions he strengthens us by the example of his leniency, by granting us in faith pardon of all our sins. For the vices of our nature did not merit pardon. Therefore all pardon comes from him. In fact, he pardons even those sins that remain in one after confession. The penalty to be paid through Cain was established at sevenfold, but that sin was against a man, against his brother Abel, to the point of murder (Genesis 4:8). But in Lamech the penalty was established at seventy times seven times (Genesis 4:24), and, as we believe, the penalty was established on those responsible for the Lords Passion. But the Lord through the confession of believers grants pardon for this crime. By the gift of baptism he grants the grace of salvation to his revilers and persecutors. How much more is it necessary, he shows, that pardon be returned by us without measure or number. And we should not think how many times we forgive, but we should cease to be angry with those who sin against us, as often as the occasion for anger exists. Pardons frequency shows us that in our case there is never a time for anger, since God pardons us for all sins in their entirety by his gift rather than by our merit. Nor should we be excused from the requirement of giving pardon that number of times [i.e., seventy times seven], since through the grace of the gospel God has granted us pardon without measure."
(excerpt from ON MATTHEW 18.10)
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Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)
The Revised Standard Version of the Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1965, 1966 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.