st-henry-catholic-churchd2d61169

September 17, 2023

Sun, 17 Sep 2023 12:43:36 GMT

Throughout the readings today, we hear a resounding theme about the importance of forgiveness. Our God is merciful and compassionate. The parable warns us that unless we are willing to forgive, the forgiveness granted us by God will be revoked.

We pray, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

This article comes to you from Our Sunday Visitor courtesy of your parish or diocese.

The Church

Sun, 17 Sep 2023 12:41:52 GMT

“[T]he Church, who loves and prefers what Jesus loved and preferred, cannot rest until she has reached all those who experience rejection, exclusion, and feel that they do not matter to anyone. In the heart of the Church, you allow us to meet Jesus, because you speak to us about him, not so much with words, but with your whole life.” – Pope Francis

Reflection: How does your life speak to others about Jesus? Have you ever acted with the Church to reach out to those who feel that they do not matter to anyone? When? How did you meet Jesus in a different way through that experience?

This article comes to you from Our Sunday Visitor courtesy of your parish or diocese.

The reality of sin and forgiveness

Fri, 15 Sep 2023 12:40:16 GMT

A boggy marsh: This is how Dante imagines the reality of anger in his “Inferno.” Greed looks like the eternal weight of a heavy stone pressing against one’s chest. Our readings for this Sunday present these sins in contrast to the blissful happiness of forgiveness .

Matthew’s Gospel offers us other images. Sin, in Matthew 18, is likened to a debt. Indeed, sin is a lack — it is lacking in love. In contrast, Matthew 18 likens the kingdom of heaven to the forgiveness of all debt, of all sin: “Moved with compassion the master of that servant let him go and forgave him the loan” (vs. 27). This imagery gives us a way to envision sin and forgiveness for what they truly are.

In fact, if we might make a brief scriptural tangent, we could look to the prophet Hosea for an even stronger image of sin and forgiveness, also delineated through a financial transaction. Hosea’s wife, Gomer, leaves him for a life of prostitution (cf. Hos 1:2). The Lord tells Hosea that he should go and purchase his wife back — he must literally redeem her as he returns to purchase her in the place she worked. “So I acquired her for myself for fifteen pieces of silver and a homer and a lethech of barley” (Hos 3:2). Imagine how Gomer must have felt in response to such an act of forgiveness!

Returning to the readings for this Sunday, we are asked to do likewise. Sirach tells us: “Forgive your neighbor the wrong done to you; then when you pray, your own sins will be forgiven” (Sir 28:2). And Christ himself teaches us to pray this way: ” [Our Father…] forgive us our trespasses [our debts, our sins!], as we forgive those who trespass [or debt or sin] against us” (cf. Mt 6:12-14).

The Catechism of the Catholic Church calls this particular petition of the Our Father both “astonishing” and “daunting” (Nos. 2838, 2840). Both of these descriptors are tied to the small word, “as” that connects the two parts of the petition: “Father … forgive … as we forgive.” Indeed, as the Catechism points out, this little “as” echoes across the Gospels: “Love one another as I have loved you”; “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Perhaps, we begin to see the astonishing and daunting character of this petition for forgiveness! This “as” is no small task; it is nothing less than our conversion and our growth in holiness.

To delineate this, the Catechism dramatizes our praying of the Our Father: “With bold confidence, we began praying to our Father. In begging him that his name be hallowed, we were in fact asking him that we ourselves might be always made more holy. But though we are clothed with the baptismal garment, we do not cease to sin, to turn away from God. Now, in this new petition, we return to him like the prodigal son and … recognize that we are sinners before him. Our petition begins with a ‘confession’ of our wretchedness and his mercy. Our hope is firm because, in his Son, ‘we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins'” (No. 2839).

This confession of sin and petition for forgiveness is the first step in “doing likewise.” Returning from the heavy and marshy prodigality of our sin through confession, we desire mercy and forgiveness. We desire God’s kingdom . Thus, we must love “as” the king loves, and so we must forgive “as” he forgives through an imitation of God’s mercy. God’s “ outpouring of mercy cannot penetrate our hearts as long as we have not forgiven those who have trespassed against us. Love, like the Body of Christ, is indivisible; we cannot love the God we cannot see if we do not love the brother or sister we do see” (Catechism, No. 2840).

This article comes to you from Our Sunday Visitor courtesy of your parish or diocese.

Big “T” traditions

Mon, 11 Sep 2023 12:47:16 GMT

Traditions are important to families. Singing the family birthday song, making grandma’s banana bread, praying in a special way at holiday meals — traditions are the foundation on which strong families are built. Likewise, the Church was built upon the rituals and traditions of the apostles and the early Christian communities. This body of ritual and teaching is called Tradition (with a capital T), and it serves as a unifying force in the Church today. This Tradition is so important that the teaching office of the Church, called the magisterium, safeguards it.

We believe that that sacred Word of God is found in both Scripture and Tradition. In fact, the Tradition of the Church was in place before the Gospels were even written. It’s true! We practiced our faith long before we wrote about our faith. The first Christians were already meeting together, mostly in homes, celebrating the Eucharist, sharing the teachings of the apostles and encouraging one another at the time the New Testament was written down. This was the beginning of St. Paul addressing his letters to these early Christian communities.

Those who argue that Scripture alone should be the source of Christian teaching fail to recognize that in the first several centuries of the Church there was no “Bible” in the form we have today. Early Christian communities read from the Old Testament writings, the prophets and from the letters from leaders like Peter and Paul. The earliest writings in the New Testament reflect the belief and practice of the early Christians as the Holy Spirit guided the Church and her leaders. If we truly wish to understand Scripture, we must understand the context in which it was written — the Tradition of the Church.

FAITH AT HOME

Traditions that are handed down through the generations serve not only as the foundation for our faith historically, but are also a vital part of our faith today. Especially through the family, called the “domestic church,” we pass the teachings of our faith on to the next generation, in the words we say, as well as our family rituals and the way we live our daily lives. Today it is important that children and adults alike learn and experience the teachings of our faith in context — in the Christian community of the parish and the home.

Cultivate your family’s faith at home by practicing Sabbath. Make it known that Sunday is a day devoted to family. Be intentional about planning a day of rest and renewal together. Begin with Mass. Prepare a meal together. Share prayers and conversation. Turn off the television (and the computer and MP3 player) and listen to each other. Leave room for silence. At the end of the day, thank God for your family’s blessings.

This content comes to you from Our Sunday Visitor courtesy of your parish or diocese.

The Good News leads to seeing with eyes of faith

Mon, 11 Sep 2023 12:45:13 GMT

What really matters? Most of us have had an experience that causes us to ask this question. Our lives are filled with activity, much of it necessary, some of it surely not. On most days many of us feel we have little time for anything beyond a quick prayer, a fast-food meal, and then total collapse at the end of the day (yet statistics indicate we seem to find endless hours to watch television). And then something happens: a death or diagnosis of serious illness; a natural disaster that takes with it human life and property; unemployment or underemployment affecting physical, emotional and spiritual well-being. That “something” may happen to us, to someone near us, or to someone around the world, but in that moment, as circumstances suddenly change, our perspective is changed as well, and we may ask, “What really matters, after all?”

The Good News of Jesus Christ focuses our attention beyond the mundane, toward that which is of lasting value. When our lives are directed by our relationship with the God of Love, we order our actions, words and attitudes to reflect that Love. That is the real meaning of our life in Christ, and the call of disciples and stewards. By seeing with the eyes of faith, we gain holy perspective and realize that our stewardship of life, time and resources is the means by which we show Christ’s love in the world.

This article comes to you from Grace In Action ( Our Sunday Visitor ) courtesy of your parish or diocese.