A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew 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”
God is our Father and as a Good Father He always has our true happiness in mind. “Few souls understand what God would accomplish in them if they were to abandon themselves unreservedly to Him, and if they were to allow His grace to mold them accordingly. “ ( St Ignatius Loyola)
We are reminded in today’s scripture that reconciliation is necessary. We are to embrace all that God’s providence has allowed for us – This includes the joys and the pains. And God has instructed us that we need to reconcile before offering gifts to Him. This is how important reconciliation is. And His Grace won't fail us.
Do we hold a grudge toward our spouses, letting that grudge fester, ruining our relationship yet we never sit down and talk? Do we speak to a fellow coworker or employee who is not doing their job or do we grumble in our anger til we explode? When we are slighted or overlooked or hear gossip about us or someone has wounded someone we respect and love, do we speak with them and lay it all out?
We are asked by God to abandon our wills to His and to always be ready to do His will as it is revealed to us. Abandoning ourselves to God's providencial will is not the same as being apathetic to life or to not take charge of our lives, or being someone’s doormat or allowing evil to run amok. But in the best of the circumstances, if we know that someone holds something against us or we hold something against them, we are to reconcile and bless them.
Unforgiveness is a cruel master. It will not allow our relationship with God to flourish and may even destroy it. Our PAPA philosophy is to Bless no matter what happens. We choose to bless everything and everyone—whether they are good or ill. Bless them all. (PAPA handbook page 22)
