Reading I
Dn 3, 25.
34-43
Azariah stood up in the fire and prayed aloud:
"For your name's
sake, O Lord, do not deliver us up forever,
or make void your covenant.
Do
not take away your mercy from us,
for the sake of Abraham, your
beloved,
Isaac your servant, and Israel your holy one,
To whom you
promised to multiply their offspring
like the stars of heaven,
or the sand
on the shore of the sea.
For we are reduced, O Lord, beyond any other
nation,
brought low everywhere in the world this day
because of our
sins.
We have in our day no prince, prophet, or leader,
no holocaust,
sacrifice, oblation, or incense,
no place to offer first fruits, to find
favor with you.
But with contrite heart and humble spirit
let us be
received;
As though it were holocausts of rams and bullocks,
or thousands
of fat lambs,
So let our sacrifice be in your presence today
as we follow
you unreservedly;
for those who trust in you cannot be put to shame.
And
now we follow you with our whole heart,
we fear you and we pray to you.
Do
not let us be put to shame,
but deal with us in your kindness and great
mercy.
Deliver us by your wonders,
and bring glory to your name, O Lord."
Responsorial
Psalm
Ps 25, 4-5. 6-7. 8-9
R. (6) Remember your mercies,
O Lord.
Your ways, O Lord, make known to me;
teach me your
paths,
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my
savior.
R. Remember your mercies, O Lord.
Remember that your
compassion, O Lord,
and your kindness are from of old.
In your kindness
remember me,
because of your goodness, O Lord.
R. Remember your
mercies, O Lord.
Good and upright is the Lord;
thus he shows sinners
the way.
He guides the humble to justice,
he teaches the humble his way.
R. Remember your mercies, O Lord.
Gospel
Mt 18, 21-35
Peter came up and
asked Jesus, "Lord, when my brother wrongs me, how often must I forgive him?
Seven times?" "No," Jesus replied, "not seven times; I say, seventy times seven
times. That is why the reign of God may be said to be like a king who decided to
settle accounts with his officials. When he began his auditing, one was brought
in who owed him a huge amount. As he had no way of paying it, 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 official prostrated himself in homage and said,
'My lord, be patient with me and I will pay you back in full.' Moved with pity,
the master let the official go and wrote off the debt. But when that same
official went out he met a fellow servant who owed him a mere fraction of what
he himself owed. He seized him and throttled him. 'Pay back what you owe,' he
demanded. His fellow servant dropped to his knees and began to plead with him,
'Just give me time and I will pay you back in full.' But he would hear none of
it. Instead, he had him put in jail until he paid back what he owed. When his
fellow servants saw what had happened they were badly shaken, and went to their
master to report the whole incident. His master sent for him and said, 'You
worthless wretch! I canceled your entire debt when you pleaded with me. Should
you not have dealt mercifully with your fellow servant, as I dealt with you?'
Then in anger the master handed him over to the torturers until he paid back all
that he owed. My heavenly Father will treat you in exactly the same way unless
each of you forgives his brother from his heart."
Give
us success in all we do! Psalm
90:17
See a Need and Respond
Several years ago Steve Wallenda,
of the famous flying Wallendas high-wire
circus act, learned that a good
friend needed a heart transplant. This
friend had neither money nor insurance
coverage to pay for the expensive
procedure.
Immediately, Steve
Wallenda came up with a fund-raising plan of action. He
arranged to have a
forty-foot high wire set up in the parking lot at the
Rawhide Amusement Park
in Scottsdale, Arizona. Wallenda told his friend as
well as the press that he
would mount the high wire and stay up there for
four days in a fund-raising
effort to help pay for his friend's surgery.
Wallenda did not wait for
anyone to tell him how he could help. He saw a
need and responded.
Let
us be guided by that inspiring action. Whenever we come across someone
who
needs assistance, let us respond spontaneously, boldly, and
courageously. Let
us remember also to do acts of kindness and compassion
with a prayerful,
humble spirit. We must ask God to guide us, bless our
effort, and "grant us
success" as we seek ways to help a needy individual or
family.
- - - -
- - - - - -
If you truly want to help the soul of your neighbor,
you
should approach God first
with all your heart.
Ask him simply to fill you
with charity,
the greatest of all virtues;
with it you can
accomplish
what you desire.
Saint Vincent Ferrer
Source: http://www.liguori.org/cpr/reflect/reflect.htm#20th
You
can find complete reflections on the day's Scripture at:
1) http://www.cin.org/dailyword.html
2) http://www.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
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Saint of the Day:
St. Cuthbert
St. Cuthbert lived in
England in the seventh century. He was a poor shepherd
boy who loved to play
games with his friends. He was very good at them, too.
One of his friends
scolded him for loving to play so much. In fact, his
playmate said words that
he didn't seem to be saying himself. The child
said, "Cuthbert, how can you
waste your time playing games when you have
been chosen to be a priest and a
bishop?" Cuthbert was confused and very
impressed. He wondered if he really
was going to be a priest and a bishop.
In August, 651, fifteen-year-old
Cuthbert had a religious experience. He saw
a totally black sky. Suddenly a
bright beam of light moved across it. In the
light were angels carrying a
ball of fire up beyond the sky. Sometime later,
Cuthbert learned that the
same night of the vision, the bishop, St. Aiden,
had died. Cuthbert did not
know how this all involved him, but he made up
his mind about his life's
vocation and entered a monastery. Cuthbert became
a priest and a
bishop.
From one village to another, from house to house, St. Cuthbert
went, on
horse or on foot. He visited the people to help them spiritually.
Best of
all, he could speak the dialect of the peasants because he had once
been a
poor shepherd boy. He did good everywhere and brought many people to
God.
Cuthbert was cheerful and kind. People felt attracted to him and no one
was
afraid of him. He was also a prayerful, holy monk.
When Cuthbert
was ordained a bishop, he worked just as hard as ever to help
his people. He
visited them no matter how difficult the travel on poor roads
or in very bad
weather. As he lay dying, Cuthbert urged his monks to live in
peace and
charity with everyone. He died peacefully in 687.
Let us pray today for
those who are called to leadership in the Church-in
our parishes, dioceses
and throughout the world-that these people may have
the wisdom and courage
necessary to offer their gifts in service.
source: http://www.daughtersofstpaul.com/saintday/m3.html#BM20
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LIGHT FOR THE JOURNEY Tuesday,
March 20, 2001
... something to think about and pray over,
prepared and sent as a gift to
all those who desire to receive
it..