A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew 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.”
REFLECTION: "For where two or three are gathered together in my name,
there am I in the midst of them.”
Where have we read this verse before? "For where two or three are gathered together in my name,
there am I in the midst of them.” Yes, in our PAPA Handbook page 8. This is the Lord's promise that if two or three are gathered in His name, He will be amongst us. He will hear our prayers. We pray so that Jesus can be with us always.
How beautiful!! For our mission of going out and making disciples, we pray with confidence. And Jesus keeps His promises. He not only is with us but in us. We are all connected together in the Communion of Saints. We pray with people who have gone before us and our now with God. We pray with those who are in purgatory as well. Imagine the prayers of those of us on earth all united pouring into heaven. Imagine all the saints, Mother Mary and St Joseph praying with us for the intercession of Jesus to His Father on our behalf.
Today we celebrate the memorial of Saint Jane Frances de Chantal. St Francis de Sales was her spiritual director. She founded over eighty five convents for women who were unable to join existing orders because of age or sickness. She enjoyed praying and she always said, "We should go to prayer with deep humility and an awareness of our nothingness."
God Bless You
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