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Anyone who has earnestly been trying to follow after our Lord, our God in obedience and in faith should be able to attest that He has always walked with us, sometimes even ahead of us in all the trials and challenges that we have faced in our lives. We should be able to attest to the miracles, signs, and wonders that He has worked not only in our lives, but in those whom He has empowered us to do those works and wonders for Him, for His glory.

It is sad that we sometimes forget, maybe in moments of weakness, in difficulties, we forget how He was with us then and how He will be with us going forward. Or sometimes when we have sinned, the evil one doesn’t want us to remember how good the Lord our God has been and how He had watched over us.

With that in mind, today’s Gospel reminds us that we are held to a higher calling. In the Lord’s prayer that He taught us, the line goes, forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. We cannot withhold forgiveness. For just as the Lord our God is merciful to us, we must be merciful. Not 7 times, but 77 times 7. In other words, we must be merciful all the time.

Lord Jesus, we love you, we adore you, we want to glorify you. Forgive us our many faults, as we forgive those who have faulted us. Amen.

Saint Maximilian Kolbe, Priest, Pray for us…

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First reading
Joshua 3:7-11,13-17

The Israelites cross the Jordan dry-shod

The Lord said to Joshua, ‘This very day I will begin to make you a great man in the eyes of all Israel, to let them be sure that I am going to be with you even as I was with Moses. As for you, give this order to the priests carrying the ark of the covenant: “When you have reached the brink of the waters of the Jordan, you are to stand still in the Jordan itself”.’ Then Joshua said to the Israelites, ‘Come closer and hear the words of the Lord your God.’ Joshua said, ‘By this you shall know that a living God is with you and without a doubt will expel the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Hivite, the Perizzite, the Girgashite, the Amorite andm the Jebusite. Look, the ark of the Lord, the Lord of the whole earth, is about to cross the Jordan at your head. As soon as the priests with the ark of the Lord, the Lord of the whole earth, have set their feet in the waters of the Jordan, the upper waters of the Jordan flowing down will be stopped in their course and stand still in one mass.’
Accordingly, when the people struck camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carried the ark of the covenant in front of the people. As soon as the bearers of the ark reached the Jordan and the feet of the priests who carried it touched the waters (the Jordan overflows the whole length of its banks throughout the harvest season) the upper waters stood still and made one heap over a wide space – from Adam to the fortress of Zarethan – while those flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah, that is, the Salt Sea, stopped running altogether. The people crossed opposite Jericho. The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood still on dry ground in mid-Jordan, and all Israel continued to cross dry-shod till the whole nation had finished its crossing of the river.

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Gospel
Matthew 18:21-19:1

‘How often must I forgive my brother?’

Peter went up to Jesus and said, ‘Lord, how often must I forgive my brother if he wrongs me? As often as seven times?’ Jesus answered, ‘Not seven, I tell you, but seventy-seven times.
‘And so the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who decided to settle his accounts with his servants. When the reckoning began, they brought him a man who owed ten thousand talents; but he had no means of paying, so his master gave orders that he should be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions, to meet the debt. At this, the servant threw himself down at his master’s feet. “Give me time” he said “and I will pay the whole sum.” And the servant’s master felt so sorry for him that he let him go and cancelled the debt. Now as this servant went out, he happened to meet a fellow servant who owed him one hundred denarii; and he seized him by the throat and began to throttle him. “Pay what you owe me” he said. His fellow servant fell at his feet and implored him, saying, “Give me time and I will pay you.” But the other would not agree; on the contrary, he had him thrown into prison till he should pay the debt. His fellow servants were deeply distressed when they saw what had happened, and they went to their master and reported the whole affair to him. Then the master sent for him. “You wicked servant,” he said “I cancelled all that debt of yours when you appealed to me. Were you not bound, then, to have pity on your fellow servant just as I had pity on you?” And in his anger the master handed him over to the torturers till he should pay all his debt. And that is how my heavenly Father will deal with you unless you each forgive your brother from your heart.’
Jesus had now finished what he wanted to say, and he left Galilee and came into the part of Judaea which is on the far side of the Jordan.

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In all the great deeds of both Elijah and Elisha what was their ultimate mission? To bring right worship back to the One true living God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob. To reconcile everyone to Him who is patient, loving and merciful.

For He loved us while we were still sinners! And in His great mercy and love, He sent His Son our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ to free us from all sin. How then can we withhold mercy and forgiveness from our brethren? For unless we become like Him who is loving and merciful, we are from Him!

Lead and guide me Lord to be more and more like You. Amen

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First reading
Ecclesiasticus 48:1-15

The spirit of Elijah fills Elisha


The prophet Elijah arose like a fire, his word flaring like a torch.
It was he who brought famine on the people, and who decimated them in his zeal.
By the word of the Lord, he shut up the heavens, he also, three times, brought down fire.
How glorious you were in your miracles, Elijah! Has anyone reason to boast as you have? –
rousing a corpse from death, from Sheol by the word of the Most High; dragging kings down to destruction, and high dignitaries from their beds; hearing reproof on Sinai, and decrees of punishment on Horeb; anointing kings as avengers, and prophets to succeed you; taken up in the whirlwind of fire, in a chariot with fiery horses; designated in the prophecies of doom to allay God’s wrath before the fury breaks, to turn the hearts of fathers towards their children, and to restore the tribes of Jacob, Happy shall they be who see you, and those who have fallen asleep in love; for we too will have life.

Elijah was shrouded in the whirlwind, and Elisha was filled with his spirit; throughout his life no ruler could shake him, and no one could subdue him.
No task was too hard for him, and even in death his prophesied.
In his lifetime he performed wonders, and in death his works were marvellous.




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Gospel
Matthew 6:7-15

How to pray

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘In your prayers do not babble as the pagans do, for they think that by using many words they will make themselves heard. Do not be like them; your Father knows what you need before you ask him. So you should pray like this:

‘Our Father in heaven,
may your name be held holy,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven those who are in debt to us. And do not put us to the test, but save us from the evil one.

‘Yes, if you forgive others their failings, your heavenly Father will forgive you yours; but if you do not forgive others, your Father will not forgive your failings either.’

By the blood of Christ Jesus our Lord we have been redeemed!

What does this mean for us? Yes liberation from sin to live fully in His love.  But have we forgotten the part in which His blood which is life giving flows through us? Perhaps the greatest clarity of this truth is when we receive His body, blood, soul and divinity at Holy Eucharist. That means His mercy flows through the blood of every Christian so how then can we say that we will NOT FORGIVE??  When our Lord readily forgave us from the cross in which He hung by our sins. If we refuse to forgive then the sad reality is that we are not in full communion with Him.

It is in our human nature that there will be some friction from time to time. Harsh words exchanged and foolish actions which cause grief, sorrow and pain. Wrong doings against one another, intentional or otherwise. And so forgiveness is crucial and a vital step to reconciliation which extends further to our individual and collective salvation.

Lord forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Amen

First reading

Daniel 3:25,34-43

Let our sacrifice to you today be a contrite soul and humbled spirit

Azariah stood in the heart of the fire, and he began to pray:

Oh! Do not abandon us for ever,

for the sake of your name;

do not repudiate your covenant,

do not withdraw your favour from us,

for the sake of Abraham, your friend,

of Isaac your servant,

and of Israel your holy one,

to whom you promised descendants as countless as the stars of heaven

and as the grains of sand on the seashore.

Lord, now we are the least of all the nations,

now we are despised throughout the world, today, because of our sins.

We have at this time no leader, no prophet, no prince,

no holocaust, no sacrifice, no oblation, no incense,

no place where we can offer you the first-fruits

and win your favour.

But may the contrite soul, the humbled spirit be as acceptable to you as holocausts of rams and bullocks,  as thousands of fattened lambs:

such let our sacrifice be to you today, and may it be your will that we follow you wholeheartedly, since those who put their trust in you will not be disappointed.

And now we put our whole heart into following you, into fearing you and seeking your face once more.

Do not disappoint us; treat us gently, as you yourself are gentle

and very merciful.

Grant us deliverance worthy of your wonderful deeds, let your name win glory, Lord.

Gospel

Matthew 18:21-35

To be forgiven, you must forgive

Peter went up to Jesus and said, ‘Lord, how often must I forgive my brother if he wrongs me? As often as seven times?’ Jesus answered, ‘Not seven, I tell you, but seventy-seven times.

    ‘And so the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who decided to settle his accounts with his servants. When the reckoning began, they brought him a man who owed ten thousand talents; but he had no means of paying, so his master gave orders that he should be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions, to meet the debt. At this, the servant threw himself down at his master’s feet. “Give me time” he said “and I will pay the whole sum.” And the servant’s master felt so sorry for him that he let him go and cancelled the debt. Now as this servant went out, he happened to meet a fellow servant who owed him one hundred denarii; and he seized him by the throat and began to throttle him. “Pay what you owe me” he said. His fellow servant fell at his feet and implored him, saying, “Give me time and I will pay you.” But the other would not agree; on the contrary, he had him thrown into prison till he should pay the debt. His fellow servants were deeply distressed when they saw what had happened, and they went to their master and reported the whole affair to him. Then the master sent for him. “You wicked servant,” he said “I cancelled all that debt of yours when you appealed to me. Were you not bound, then, to have pity on your fellow servant just as I had pity on you?” And in his anger the master handed him over to the torturers till he should pay all his debt. And that is how my heavenly Father will deal with you unless you each forgive your brother from your heart.’