DAILY GOSPEL Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. John 6:68 Monday, 17 March 2014 Monday of the Second week of Lent Feast of the Church : In Ireland and Australia: Solemnity of St Patrick - proper readings Saint(s) of the day : St. Patrick, Bishop (c. 385-461) Blessed John-Paul II: Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful Book of 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: 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. Psalms 79(78):8.9.11.13. Remember not against us the iniquities of the past; May your compassion quickly come to us, For we are brought very low. Help us, O God our savior, Because of the glory of your name; Deliver us and pardon our sins For your names sake. 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. Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint 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. Commentary of the day : Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful Jesus Christ taught that man not only receives and experiences the mercy of God, but that he is also called to practice mercy towards others: Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy (Mt 5,7)... In reciprocal relationships between persons merciful love is never a unilateral act or process. Even in the cases in which everything would seem to indicate that only one party is giving and offering, and the other only receiving and taking... in reality the one who gives is always also a beneficiary... In this sense Christ crucified is for us the loftiest model, inspiration and encouragement. When we base ourselves on this disquieting model, we are able with all humility to show mercy to others, knowing that Christ accepts it as if it were shown to Himself (Mt 25,34f.)... For an act of merciful love is only really such when we are deeply convinced at the moment that we perform it that we are at the same time receiving mercy from the people who are accepting it from us. If this... reciprocal quality is absent, our actions are not yet true acts of mercy, nor has there yet been fully completed in us that conversion to which Christ has shown us the way by His words and example, even to the cross, nor are we yet sharing fully in the magnificent source of merciful love that has been revealed to us by Him... Mercy that is truly Christian is also, in a certain sense, the most perfect incarnation of equality between people, and therefore also the most perfect incarnation of justice as well... However, the equality brought by justice [alone] is limited to the realm of objective and extrinsic goods, while love and mercy bring it about that people meet one another in that value which is man himself, with the dignity that is proper to him... Thus, mercy becomes an indispensable element for shaping mutual relationships between people, in a spirit of deepest respect for what is human, and in a spirit of mutual brotherhood... Consequently, merciful love is supremely indispensable between those who are closest to one another: between husbands and wives, between parents and children, between friends; and it is indispensable in education and in pastoral work.
Posted on: Mon, 17 Mar 2014 16:46:27 +0000
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