Jesus said to the disciples, "Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
Do not judge, and you will not be judged;
do not condemn, and you will not be condemned.

＊＊＊ 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

Rescue us, O Lord, for the glory of your name.

 

＊＊＊＊ 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：

God Has Is Mercy

In the book The Name of God Is Mercy, Pope Francis emphatically states thus: "Mercy is the first attribute of God. The name of God is mercy." In the context of today's gospel, we listen to Pope Francis:

"I believe that this is a time for mercy. The Church is showing her maternal side, her motherly face, to a humanity that is wounded. She does not wait for the wounded to knock on her doors, she looks for them on the streets, she gathers them in, she embraces them, she takes care of them, she makes them feel loved.

And so, as I said, and I am ever more convinced of it, this is a kairos, our era is a kairos of mercy, an opportune time.... Etymologically, 'mercy' derives from misericordis, which means opening one's heart to wretchedness. And immediately we go to the Lord: mercy is the divine attitude which embraces, it is God's giving himself to us, accepting us, and bowing to forgive."