St. Patrick
H. Edison Valencia, L.C.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Christ, our King, Thy Kingdom come!
Preparatory prayer (to put me in the presence of God)
Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart like yours.
Gospel of the day (to guide your meditation)
From the Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew 18:21-35
At that time, Peter came to Jesus and asked, “If my brother offends me, how many times must I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered him, “Not only up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.”.
Then Jesus said to them, “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. The first one who was brought to him owed him many millions. Since he had nothing to pay, the master ordered him, his wife, his children, and all his possessions to be sold to pay off the debt. The servant threw himself at his feet and begged him, saying: ‘Have patience with me and I will pay you everything. The king took pity on the servant, released him, and even forgave him the debt.
But no sooner had that servant left than he met one of his fellow servants, who owed him a little money. Then he seized him by the throat and almost strangled him, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe me. The companion knelt down on his knees and begged him: ’Have patience with me and I will pay you everything‘. But the other would not listen to him, but went and put him in jail until he paid him the debt.
When his companions saw what had happened, they were filled with indignation and went to tell the king what had happened. Then the lord called him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant, I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. I forgave you all that debt because you begged me; should you not also have had compassion on your companion, as I had compassion on you?’ And the lord, enraged, handed him over to the executioners so that they would not release him until he had paid what he owed.
For my heavenly Father will do the same to you, if each one does not forgive his brother from his heart”.
Word of the Lord.
Meditate on what God tells you in the Gospel
In Matthew's Gospel we find a very beautiful parable, where we have a question to the Master by Peter, who apparently was striving for holiness but, because of his primariness, not to say impatience, he often felt a bit tied down. And, surely thinking that everything must have a limit, he asks the Master, «Lord, if my brother offends me, how many times must I forgive him? Up to seven times?» Jesus' answer leaves him, and leaves us, a little puzzled, because if we start to do this mathematical operation we will have as a result an infinity of numbers, but Jesus wants to tell us with this that we must always forgive after the example of his heart. Of course, we must keep in mind that we are human, that we can get angry very easily, that we can even be made angry with just reasons, but we must always be ready to forgive.
It is like that monk who his master gave him a basket full of potatoes and an empty sack, and told him that for each person who had been angry with him, to write the name on a potato and put it in the sack; in a short time the sack was full. Then he told him to carry the sack every day; there came a time when the potatoes began to rot, to smell bad; it was unbearable to carry them. Then the monk decided not to carry them anymore and, when he put them down, he felt a great relief and rest. He understood that only by forgiving from the heart would he be free. And this is what we must do, discard the rotten potatoes we have in our hearts, truly forgive, forgive with the heart of Christ and walk free, without weight on our conscience and filled with the love of God.
«Since our baptism, God has forgiven us, forgiving us an unsolved debt: the original sin. But that is the first time. Then, with boundless mercy, He forgives us all our sins as soon as we show even a small sign of repentance. God is like that: merciful. When we are tempted to close our hearts to the one who has offended us and asks for forgiveness, let us remember the words of the heavenly Father to the unmerciful servant: “O wicked servant, I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Should you not also have compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had compassion on you?” Anyone who has experienced the joy, peace and inner freedom that comes from being forgiven can open themselves to the possibility of forgiveness in turn. In the Lord's Prayer Jesus wanted to accommodate the same teaching of this parable. He has placed in direct relationship the forgiveness we ask of God with the forgiveness we must grant to our brothers.»
(Angelus of H.H. Francis, September 17, 2017).
Dialogue with Christ
This is the most important part of your prayer, prepare yourself to talk with much love with the One who loves you.
Purpose
Propose a personal one. The one that involves the most love in response to the Beloved... or, if you believe that this is what God is asking of you, live what is suggested below.
May I cast from my heart today, even a single potato full of rancor.
Farewell
We thank You, Lord, for all Your benefits, You who live and reign forever and ever.
Amen.
Christ, our King!
Thy Kingdom come!
Most prudent Virgin, Mary, Mother of the Church.
Pray for us.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
