Sunday - September 10, 2017
Do not try to be verbose when you pray, lest your mind be distracted in searching for words. One word of the publican propitiated God, and one cry of faith saved the thief. Loquacity in prayer often distracts the mind and leads to fantasy, whereas brevity makes for concentration.
~~ St. John Climacus
TODAY'S READINGS
September 10, 2017
Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 127
Reading 1EZ 33:7-9
Thus says the LORD:You, son of man, I have appointed watchman for the house of Israel;
when you hear me say anything, you shall warn them for me.
If I tell the wicked, "O wicked one, you shall surely die, "
and you do not speak out to dissuade the wicked from his way,
the wicked shall die for his guilt,
but I will hold you responsible for his death.
But if you warn the wicked,
trying to turn him from his way,
and he refuses to turn from his way,
he shall die for his guilt,
but you shall save yourself.
Responsorial PsalmPS 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9
R. (8) If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.Come, let us sing joyfully to the LORD;
let us acclaim the rock of our salvation.
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us joyfully sing psalms to him.
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Come, let us bow down in worship;
let us kneel before the LORD who made us.
For he is our God,
and we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides.
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Oh, that today you would hear his voice:
"Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,
as in the day of Massah in the desert,
where your fathers tempted me;
they tested me though they had seen my works."
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Reading 2ROM 13:8-10
Brothers and sisters:Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another;
for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.
The commandments, "You shall not commit adultery;
you shall not kill; you shall not steal; you shall not covet, "
and whatever other commandment there may be,
are summed up in this saying, namely,
"You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
Love does no evil to the neighbor;
hence, love is the fulfillment of the law.
Alleluia2 COR 5:19
R. Alleluia, alleluia.God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ
and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelMT 18:15-20
Jesus said to his disciples:"If your brother sins against you,
go and tell him his fault between you and him alone.
If he listens to you, you have won over your brother.
If he does not listen,
take one or two others along with you,
so that 'every fact may be established
on the testimony of two or three witnesses.'
If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church.
If he refuses to listen even to the church,
then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector.
Amen, I say to you,
whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven,
and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Again, amen, I say to you,
if two of you agree on earth
about anything for which they are to pray,
it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father.
For where two or three are gathered together in my name,
there am I in the midst of them."
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3 Steps for Calling Others to Repentance!
This Sunday's readings all speak of the need to stand up for what is holy and right and true in a way that that invites others to turn away from sin. If we don't, we indirectly play a part in the sins he or she commits, and we will be held accountable (see the first reading).
If we do take a stand against sin but without compassion and mercy and unconditional love, that too is a sin (the second reading).
Jesus shows us in the Gospel reading that in our efforts to stop a fellow Christian from sinning, it's important to rely on our Christian community for advocacy and prayer support. How?
First, we speak to the sinner. When we know that someone is harming himself and others (all sins are harmful even when we can't see the harm), if we don't try to impart this knowledge to him or her at least once, our silence is unloving and uncaring.
Once we've shared the truth, even if the sinner does not change, we're free of any guilt. But we must not stop trying, and so we take one or two others with us in a stronger effort to help the sinner understand and repent.
And if that fails, we try again with still more backing.
When every attempt to help someone has failed, only then do we quit. In reality, it's not us who's walking away. The sinner is the one who has chosen the path of separation. However, remember how Jesus treated the Gentiles and tax collectors (i.e., the outsiders, the separated ones): He never stopped loving them. He still chose to die for them.
Whose sins have greatly disturbed you lately? What have you done about it? How loving and caring have you been in handling it?
What bothers you about the way some people have pointed out your sins or the sins of others? How could they have been more compassionate? Share the story of a time when someone successfully led another into repentance and growth. Explain why the effort was effective.
Prayer
Lord Jesus: May your Word produce plentiful fruits of salvation in me and through me. Make me an instrument of your Spirit of Love to serve the plans of God the Father. Amén.
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God Bless You.....
The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”
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