Message of 3-10-15

Published: Tue, 03/10/15

Message of the Day

The function of a good book is to stand like a signpost directing the reader toward the Truth and the Life. That book serves best which early makes itself unnecessary, just as a signpost serves best after it is forgotten, after the traveler has arrived safely at his desired haven. The work of a good book is to incite the reader to moral action, to turn his eyes toward God and urge him forward. Beyond that it cannot go.
... A. W. Tozer (1897-1963), The Divine Conquest

(What books have served as such signposts for you? Which are helping you to grow spiritually at this time?)

Daily Readings

DN 3:25, 34-43; PS 25:4-9; MT 18:21-35

R. Remember your mercies, O Lord.

Your ways, O LORD, make known to me;

teach me your paths,

Guide me in your truth and teach me,

for you are God my savior.

Remember that your compassion, O LORD,

and your kindness are from of old.

In your kindness remember me,

because of your goodness, O LORD.

Good and upright is the LORD;

thus he shows sinners the way.

He guides the humble to justice,

he teaches the humble his way.

USCCB Lectionary

Reflection on the Scriptures

First we have Jesus "upping the ante" in the practice of forgiveness. After all, Peter's appeal seems reasonable – forgiving someone SEVEN times would generally count as a good faith effort. And yet Jesus goes further, expanding Peter's somewhat calculated response beyond any rational calculation. More importantly, Rabbi Jesus knows full well that his call to forgive "seventy-seven times" directly counters Lamech's limitless revenge of Genesis 4:23 – "if Cain is avenged seven times, then Lamech seventy-seven times." The curse of sin in Genesis had been marked by the murder of Abel, the vengeance of Lamech, and ultimately the Flood. Now Jesus calls his followers to embody a community of forgiveness that will help to "reverse the curse."

The parable in turn reflects the "high pressure stakes" at work in the politics of forgiveness. The debtor stands on the edge of a Job-like precipice – losing his family, his property, and his freedom. The size of his debt – ten thousand talents or the annual wages of 600,000 day-laborers – borders on the absurd (like forgiving 77 times!). Like Azariah, the debtor falls into worship mode, pleading for deliverance. And in a miracle akin to walking out of a fiery furnace, the master has a change of heart. The servant is set free…without conditions, without cost.

But wait. This is not the "parable of the grateful servant." This is the parable of the "unforgiving servant." In a stark reminder that the kingdom of heaven is embodied in our relationships in the here and now, the parable takes a dark turn. The unforgiving servant turns into a tyrant, unable to become a channel of the grace he freely received. Not surprisingly, the issue again revolves around money and debt. Cycles of injustice are hard to break.

- by Jay Carney

Spiritual Reading

Stages of Growth in Christian Prayer
- by Philip St. Romain
(based on the writings of St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross)

Stages of Contemplative Prayer (part two)

* Prayer of union. The union between the soul and God

includes the mental and sensual faculties, which rest

quietly during this prayer. In this beautiful state, one

experiences the certitude of God's presence and is

delivered from weariness and tedium. God refreshes the

soul so completely that one scarcely experiences the

need for sleep and would prefer to spend time resting in

union with God. There is no loss of conscious awareness

in this prayer.

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