Daily Bible Reflections
for March 9, 2010;

Dear Friend,

Reflect God's love to every person you meet this Tuesday.

Praying for you,

Bo Sanchez

9
 March
Tuesday
TODAY'S READINGS:

DIDACHE | COMPANION | SABBATH
DIDACHE

 

To Be Forgiven Requires Forgiving
 
So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgives his brother from his heart.” – Matthew 18:35
 
Jesus gives a lesson about forgiveness. When we refuse to forgive anyone from our heart, it will not just go unpunished by our Heavenly Father; we also cannot expect to be forgiven of our sins. The Lord’s prayer clearly says, “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.”
Harboring unforgiveness in our hearts prevents us from going higher in our spiritual life. We need to be humble enough to admit that when we do not forgive, the one who is truly imprisoned is no other than ourself. When Jesus was about to breathe His last after a day of torture and humiliation, He still prayed to God, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” He still chose to forgive.
Have we suffered more than our Lord Jesus Christ? Forgiveness is a decision. It is not based on what we feel. We decide to forgive because God says so. If we truly want to be free, forgive.Jess Santos (jesus_santos_07@yahoo.com)
 
REFLECTION:
Do you want to truly be free in life? Who still imprisons you? Forgive today and be free.
 
Dear God, help me to forgive all those who have hurt me for one reason or another. I cannot do this on my own but only through Your grace and mercy. I want to be free, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
 

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COMPANION

 

1st READING
 
There will always be times when it feels that God is distant to us. This may be how we feel but we know that it is not true. The promise of God is that He will be with us until the end of time. Sometimes, maybe even often, our feelings are not good measures of the truth. It is at these times we have to ensure our faith corrects them.
 
Daniel 3:25, 34-43
2 [Dan 3:25] Azariah stood up and prayed aloud: 11 [Dan 3:34] “For your name’s sake, do not deliver us up forever, or make void your covenant. 12 [Dan 3:35] Do not take away your mercy from us, for the sake of Abraham, your beloved, Isaac your servant, and Israel your holy one, 13 [Dan 3:36] to whom you promised to multiply their offspring like the stars of heaven, or the sand on the shore of the sea. 14 [Dan 3:37] For we are reduced, O Lord, beyond any other nation, brought low everywhere in the world this day because of our sins. 15 [Dan 3:38] We have in our day no prince, prophet, or leader, no burnt offerings, sacrifice, oblation, or incense, no place to offer first fruits, to find favor with you. 16 [Dan 3:39] But with contrite heart and humble spirit let us be received; 17 [Dan 3:40] as though it were holocausts of rams and bullocks, or thousands of fat lambs, so let our sacrifice be in your presence today as we follow you unreservedly; for those who trust in you cannot be put to shame. 18 [Dan 3:41] And now we follow you with our whole heart, we fear you and we pray to you. 19 [Dan 3:42] Do not let us be put to shame, but deal with us in your kindness and great mercy. 20 [Dan 3:43] Deliver us by your wonders, and bring glory to your name, O Lord.”
 
P S A L M
 
Psalm 25:4-5ab, 6, 7bc, 8, 9
R: Remember your mercies, oh Lord.
4 Your ways, O LORD, make known to me; teach me your paths, 5 guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my savior. (R) 6 Remember that your compassion, O LORD, and your kindness are from of old. 7 In your kindness remember me, because of your goodness, O LORD. (R) 8 Good and upright is the LORD; thus he shows sinners the way. 9 He guides the humble to justice, he teaches the humble his way. (R)
 
G O S P E L
Forgiveness should never be a measured quantity to the point that we run out of it. God’s forbearance with us is infinite; so must ours be with those who sin against us. This is never easy to accept, but it is the nature of love to forgive and allow the sinner another chance. This does not mean that we do not take measures to protect ourselves against an habitual sinner but it does mean that we will continue to forgive them.
 
Matthew 18:21-35
21 Peter approached Jesus and asked him, “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times. 23 That is why the kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who decided to settle accounts with his servants. 24 When he began the accounting, a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount. 25 Since he had no way of paying it back, his master ordered him to be sold, along with his wife, his children, and all his property, in payment of the debt. 26 At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.’ 27 Moved with compassion the master of that servant let him go and forgave him the loan. 28 When that servant had left, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a much smaller amount. He seized him and started to choke him, demanding, ‘Pay back what you owe.’ 29 Falling to his knees, his fellow servant begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’ 30 But he refused. Instead, he had him put in prison until he paid back the debt. 31 Now when his fellow servants saw what had happened, they were deeply disturbed, and went to their master and reported the whole affair. 32 His master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to. 33 Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?’ 34 Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers until he should pay back the whole debt. 35 So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgives his brother from his heart.”
 
my reflections
t h i n k : It is the nature of love to forgive and allow the sinner another chance.
 
_________________________________________________________

God’s special verse/thought for me today________________
_________________________________________________________

T O D A Y ’ S BLESSING LIST
Thank You Lord for: ____________________________________
_______________________________________________________
READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Genesis 10-12  
 
 

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SABBATH

 

The Loving Heart Ceases to Count
The shared letter reading sessions of participant couples in a Marriage Encounter Weekend are sacred moments. These times give everyone — participants and facilitators alike — a glimpse into the ups and downs of marriage and family life that the participant couples have gone through. Financial woes, problems aggravated by the presence or influence of inlaws, serious moments of illness, painful events of unfaithfulness that are usually occasioned by a “love triangle,” feelings of gradual yet growing indifference and neglect of one another, concerns over problem sons or daughters, are but some of the long list of possibilities! Our common challenge for the Weekend is to be able to share these darkest moments and light moments in a spirit of empathy and trust.
Looking back into my experiences with particular couples with whom I shared M.E Weekends, I draw one very valuable insight. It is this: the survival and revival of a couple’s love and covenant relationship has nothing to do with the seriousness of problems and trials they meet. It is dependent on how “big” their hearts are. Big hearts can take in anything; small hearts collapse with even the smallest trials.
The “big” heart is the truly loving heart. It is the one that never keeps an account or tally of the other’s excesses and failures. It does not know how to count; it is the heart of the Prodigal Father who goes out to welcome and embrace his prodigal son. It is the heart that just keeps giving, foregoing, forgiving. This is what Jesus is trying to let Peter learn in today’s Gospel. Peter thought that advocating forgiveness “seven times,” which is about 75% over the traditional Pharisaic teaching that forgiveness ought to be extended “four times” to someone over the same kind of mistake, is already remarkable. Jesus’ response challenged Peter and challenges us: the standard is not any human interpretation on forgiveness but God’s heart that is known to be slow to anger and rich in compassion.Fr. Domie Guzman, SSP
 
Reflection Question:
Do you keep a list or a tally sheet of other people’s debts, mistakes and sins against you? In the spirit of Lent, listen to what Jesus would like to tell you regarding your list.
 
Forgive me, Lord, for the many times I kept a tally sheet of other people’s failures towards me. Thank You that You continue to be patient with me of my own shortcomings.
 
St. Bosa, pray for us.
 

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