FRIDAY OF THE FIRST WEEK OF LENT MARCH 11, 2022

MASS READINGS

A reading of the holy Gospel according to Mt 5:20-26

Jesus said to his disciples: “I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven. “You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment. But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, Raqa, will be answerable to the Sanhedrin, and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ will be liable to fiery Gehenna. Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court. Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Amen, I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny.”

REFLECTION

”If you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift.”

When we do Catholic critical thinking, Jesus is our criteria. With this in mind, we voluntarily submit to bodily discipline or mortifications.

WHY?

Empty of material distraction and full tummies, we are made aware of the presence of God in all we see and the air we breath. God gets closer to us as we are reminded there is more to our comfort, more to our material wealth.

But today we hear, ”if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift.”

A few days ago I was asked by someone I know from church to pray for her friend who is on death row. Of course, we would pray, he is a beloved child of God; someone so very special to Him, that God would have died for him alone.

We are to pray that the love of God may grow in him and in ourselves without judging, condemning or despising.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

Pray today for people who have no qualms in doing evil. Pray that they may encounter Jesus and receive the grace to repent. Pray for people to have the courage to get involved when many are affected by evil.

“As the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do.” (Colossians 3:13)

God bless you.