“Holy Spirit,
cleansing the world of every impurity,
forgiving guilt,
anointing
wounds,
glistening,
You are commendable.
You are Life.
You awaken and reawaken everything that is.
-
Hildegard of Bingen, “Book of Divine Works” (Pray this prayer slowly, mindfully, pausing wherever you resonate with the need or sentiment expressed. Let the Spirit minister to you this
day.) |
Jos 3:7-10a, 11, 13-17; Ps 114:1-2, 3-4, 5-6 Mt 18:21–19:1 Peter approached Jesus and asked him,
"Lord, if my brother sins against me,
how often must I forgive him?
As many as seven times?"
Jesus answered, "I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.
That is why the Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a
king
who decided to settle accounts with his servants.
When he began the accounting,
a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount.
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.
At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and
said,
'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.'
Moved with compassion the master of that servant
let him go and forgave him the loan.
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.'
Falling to his knees, his fellow
servant begged him,
'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.'
But he refused.
Instead, he had the fellow servant put in prison
until he paid back the debt.
Now when his fellow servants saw what had happened,
they were deeply disturbed,
and went to their master and reported the whole affair.
His master summoned him and said to him, 'You wicked
servant!
I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to.
Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant,
as I had pity on you?'
Then in anger his master handed him
over to the torturers
until he should pay back the whole debt.
So will my heavenly Father do to you,
unless each of you forgives his brother from his heart." When Jesus finished these words, he left Galilee
and went to the district of Judea across the Jordan.
Reflection on the Scriptures
God understands our emotions that impede our ability to decide to forgive. While
we can’t just rid ourselves of such emotions, we can try to override them by turning them over to God. It’s also comforting to realize that when we have made a good faith effort to make amends, God is in charge regardless of what
the other party does. Successful examples of forgiving others and taking responsibility for our offenses can assist us.
At my brother’s recent 50th
anniversary vow renewal, I was reminded that most forgiveness transactions reflect the mundane difficulties of living with other people. Instead of just repeating the promises they made 50 years ago, my brother and his wife told
each other how much they still love each other and why. Then they both asked for forgiveness for problems they have caused in daily life and promised to try to do better with God’s help. I’ve been thinking of ways to emulate their
forgiveness model instead of clinging to my grievances and annoyances. That’s the most important thing that the loving God at the apex of the forgiveness triangle demands or expects. by Eileen Wirth
St. John of the Cross and the Beginning of Contemplation by James Arraj From St. John of the Cross and Dr. C. J. Jung, Part II, Chapter 3. Inner Growth Books, 1986.
John of the Cross
Juan de Yepes was born in Spain in the
Castillian town of Fontiveros in 1542. Soon after his birth his father died, and his mother had to struggle to keep her three young sons alive. This poverty probably played a role in the death of one of John's brothers and the move of the family to Medina del Campo, where John was placed in an orphanage. Upon leaving the orphanage in his teens he served as a nurse in a hospital of incurables, and attended the Jesuit college.
At 21 he decided to enter the Carmelite monastery in Medina del Campo. After being ordained as a priest he was at the point of leaving the Order for a more rigorous and secluded one when he met Teresa of Avila who had already initiated a reform movement for the sisters, and was planning one for the friars as well. She convinced him to help her in this new work, and he started the
first house of the new reform and went on to hold many positions in this growing movement.
In 1577, while in the midst of an extended stay as a confessor and spiritual director at St. Teresa's convent at Avila, he was kidnapped by the friars who opposed the reform and was imprisoned at Toledo. Buried in a dark cell and
treated brutally, he began to fear for his life. Here he suffered a dark night out of which was born some of his most beautiful poetry. After more than eight months of torment he escaped and went south to Andalusia. Charged with the spiritual direction of St. Teresa's sisters, he began to teach and write maxims as aids to their devotion, and eventually undertake his prose works which were intended to be commentaries on his major poems. After many years, dividing his time in administering the
growing reform and dedicating himself to the task of spiritual direction, he again fell afoul of some of his fellow friars. He was harassed and removed from all office, fell ill and died in 1591 at 49 years of age. The manuscripts of his writings circulated widely both inside and outside his order until they were printed in 1618.
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