Day 5 - Friday, March 20th

2020 Online Lenten Retreat
Friday, March 20

Today's Scripture

"Falling to his knees, his fellow servant begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’ But he refused. Instead, he had him put in prison until he paid back the debt….  His master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you your entire debt…. Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?’  Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturer….  So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgives his brother from his heart." (cf. Matthew 18.29-35)

Today's Reflection

“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy”

   Mercy has two aspects. It involves giving, helping and serving others, but it also includes forgiveness and understanding. Matthew sums it up in one golden rule: “In everything, do to others as you would have them do to you” (7:12). The Catechism reminds us that this law is to be applied “in every case”, especially when we are “confronted by situations that make moral judgments less assured and decision difficult”.

   Giving and forgiving means reproducing in our lives some small measure of God’s perfection, which gives and forgives superabundantly. For this reason, in the Gospel of Luke we do not hear the words, “Be perfect” (Mt 5:48), but rather, “Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful. Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you” (Lk 6:36-38). Luke then adds something not to be overlooked: “The measure you give will be the measure you get back” (6:38). The yardstick we use for understanding and forgiving others will measure the forgiveness we receive. The yardstick we use for giving will measure what we receive. We should never forget this.

   Jesus does not say, “Blessed are those who plot revenge”. He calls “blessed” those who forgive and do so “seventy times seven” (Mt 18:22). We need to think of ourselves as an army of the forgiven. All of us have been looked upon with divine compassion. If we approach the Lord with sincerity and listen carefully, there may well be times when we hear his reproach: “Should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?” (Mt 18:33).

For Your Reflection

Take a moment to think about the words, phrases or ideas that struck you in today's reflection.
Then think about these questions:
-- On a scale of 0(low) to 6(high) how easy is it for you to practice mercy and forgiveness?
-- Has your ability to do this changed or improved over the years?
-- Is it hard for you to accept how completely merciful and forgiving God is?
-- Where is there a need for mercy and forgiveness in your life right now?

Let us Pray

O Lord, Those who really wish to give glory to you by their lives, who truly long to grow in holiness, are called to be single-minded and tenacious in their practice of the works of mercy. Saint Teresa of Calcutta clearly realized this: “Yes, I have many human faults and failures… But God bends down and uses us, you and me, to be his love and his compassion in the world; he bears our sins, our troubles and our faults. He depends on us to love the world and to show how much he loves it. If we are too concerned with ourselves, we will have no time left for others”.  Help me, O Lord, to accept this truth and allow it to reshape my life.