Tuesday in the Third Week of Lent
Matthew 18:21-35
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 him 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 your brother from your heart."
Dawg's thought:
Today's prayer intention is for the restoration of the dignity of art, that it truly points to the beauty and genius of God.
I'm typing today's reflection on my laptop. As I'm typing this, I'm starting to feel what seems like a headache that's about to start. It's hard to imagine that from now on, I'm going to have to deal with this. I bumped my knee against the side of my desk as well, and the pain was still present.
These things remind me of the accident that I had. As I think about how I'm scared to ride my bike at night and how I can't ride as well as I used to, it saddens me, and it brings thoughts of the person who hit me. As I feel the different things, and as I experience my different fears, often times my mind thinks to itself, "why couldn't she just have seen me?" I think things to myself as I rub cream on the scar beneath my nose. I think things to myself as I feel how sensitive my tooth is when I brush it.
Yet, each time I experience some sort of pain, I can practice forgiving the woman who hit me. In fact, every thought of regret I hear that wants to look back and think about where I used to be, I can practice forgiving.
Let us unite our efforts to turn our hurts into forgiveness to Christ's act of forgiveness in His Passion and Death. United with Him, may our souls strive for perfection in forgiving those who "trespass against us" so that we may be united with Him in His glory. Take care and God Bless.
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