St. Frances of Rome, religious 

 

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊

Daniel 9: 4b-10

 I prayed to Yahweh, my God, and made this confession:

“Lord God, great and to be feared, you keep your Covenant and love for those who love you and observe your commandments.   We have sinned, we have not been just, we have been rebels, and have turned away from your commandments and laws.   We have not listened to your servants, the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, leaders, fathers and to all the people of the land.

 Lord, justice is yours, but ours is a face full of shame, as it is to this day – we, the people of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the whole of Israel, near and far away, in all the lands where you have dispersed us because of the infidelity we have committed against you.   Ours is the  shame, O Lord for we, our kings,  princes, fathers, have sinned against you.   We hope for pardon and mercy from the Lord, because we have rebelled against him.   We have not listened to the voice of Yahweh, our God, or followed the laws which he has given us through his servants, the prophets.

 

Ps 79: 8, 9, 11 & 13

Lord do not deal with us according to our sins.

 

＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊

Luke 6: 36-38

Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

 Don’t be a judge of others and you will not be judged; do not condemn and you will not be condemned; forgive and you will be forgiven;  give and it will be given to you, and you will receive in your sack good measure, pressed down, full and running over. For the measure you give will be the measure you receive back.”

 

Gospel Reflection：

“Be merciful just as your heavenly Father is merciful”.

This line is Luke’s counterpart of Matthew’s, “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Luke is basically saying that the perfection of God consists in his being merciful. This is shown in many instances in Luke’s gospel: in welcoming back the son who has been lost in the Parable of the Prodigal Son, in taking care of the enemy in the Parable of the Good Samaritan, or in searching for the lost ones in the Parable of the Lost sheep.

Having been created in the image of the Creator, we are reminded to grow in that very quality of our God. Our world is suffering. There is plenty of hatred and violence all coming from the hearts of God’s children. we are invited to learn from our merciful Father and to learn from Jesus who is gentle and humble of heart.