Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year A - Sunday, September 17, 2023 (EPISODE:439)

 

Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year A - Sunday, September 17, 2023 (EPISODE:439)

Readings for Sunday, 17 September 2023

FIRST READING: Sir 27:30—28:7

Ps 103:1-2, 3-4, 9-10, 11-12. "The Lord is kind and merciful; slow to anger and rich in compassion."

SECOND READING: Rom 14:7-9

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (John 13:34). Alleluia, alleluia! I give you a new commandment. Love one another as I have loved you.

GOSPEL: Matt 18:21-35

Image Credit- Shutterstock Licensed. Stock Photo ID: 2098415623 - When you wake up. PRAY. When life gets hard. PRAY. If you are unsure. When you are happy. God's always with us. Handwritten message. Photo Contributor: Olga Ganovicheva

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Please listen to the audio recordings of the Mass – (Readings, prayers and homily) for the Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year A - Sunday, September 17, 2023, by clicking this link here: https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/faith-hope-and-love-twenty-fourth-sunday-in-ordinary-time-year-a-episode-439/s-m3iuYofbymU
(EPISODE: 439 )
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Prologue:

This weekend, the scriptures include

The first reading from the book of Sirach chapter 27 v 30 and following. This book is also known as the Book of Ecclesiasticus

"Forgive your neighbour the wrong he has done,     and then your sins will be pardoned when you pray."

This text also points out the hypocrisy of us bearing a grudge against a neighbour yet expecting forgiveness and mercy for our own sins and transgressions.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 102:1-4, 9-12 (JB)  R. The Lord is (by nature) - kind and merciful;  slow to anger and rich in compassion.

"He does not treat us according to our sins  - nor repay us according to our faults. R.

And when God forgives us,... he removes our sins from us as "far as the east is from the west." That is to say, an infinite distance! 

the second reading - Romans 14: verse 7, and following

We are reminded that "The life and death of each of us has its influence on others;

(we are all united as brothers and sisters in Christ....there is no such thing as a solo Christian....

...and in this very short two-sentence passage... it says wonderfully....

"If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord, so that alive or dead we belong to the Lord."

surely one of the most beautiful statements in the scriptures...

Our Gospel today is from Matthew 18:21-35

Peter asks  Jesus  ' how often must I forgive my brother if he wrongs me? As often as seven times?

' Jesus answered, 'Not seven, I tell you, but seventy-seven times.

 Seven is, of course, the perfect number in the Hebrew mindset - ... so by saying seven times seven, it means "a perfect number of perfect times!".....It is a saying that really means, don't bother to count.. forgive as many times as needed ..."

And then Our Lord follows with the wonderful parable of the "unforgiving servant …" -  We have been forgiven more than we could possibly repay, and we owe it to pay that mercy forward to those who wrong us...

(FHL)

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GOSPEL THIS WEEKEND

The gospel value, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you!" "The Golden rule," and the principle on which Our Lord's parable is based, has profoundly affected Christianity and secular legal and ethical systems throughout the world.

In many ways, the Golden Rule is common sense and simply about consistency, justice and fairness, and yet, even now, the world cries out for this principle to be applied evenly and fully.

Our Lord gives this gospel as a warning that we must be constantly on our guard. God has forgiven us for things we could not possibly hope to repay, and we are duty-bound in gratitude and compassion to share that graciousness, forgiveness, and charity that God gives to us and others around us.

The other major problem is that some people don't seem to see those around them as their brothers and sisters in Christ or (at the very least), fellow citizens in the same "commonwealth for the common good of all," … so they act with disregard for anyone but themselves and their nearest-and-dearest.

Jesus rejects this approach. He reminds us that if we do good to those who love us, what difference does that make? Even the pagans and the sinners do that. Our Lord is preaching universal fraternity and goodwill to all…. Because we are truly ALL God's children…

In an act of astounding generosity….. the master, in this parable, not only gives the wicked servant time to start to repay the impossible debt, but he forgives the debt entirely out of compassion and mercy. Based on the value of the debt mentioned in this parable, He wipes 16,000 years or so of debt from the face of the earth. The master hopes that this act of kindness will sink deep into the debtor's heart and be passed on in a new way of acting and living. But then this sad and miserable servant, with an astoundingly hard heart, goes out and does not do the same to a fellow servant who has a debt to him that was possible to repay. It might take 100 days of pay, but it is manageable given an extended amount of time…. It is pathetic. This servant shows no empathy and no connection to others. He does not identify himself with the feelings and plight of others. He does not see this poor fellow servant as brothers in similar need. He cannot see that he himself was just like the person (so much worse), bowing before him, begging for time to repay a debt.

It is sad and, quite frankly, bewildering.  This kind of attitude makes the world a meaner and nastier place and is the cause of so much suffering. It is so unnecessary and opposite to the essence of the gospel.

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you is such a central quality in the Kingdom of God that Our Lord even incorporates it into the Great Prayer he taught his disciples to recite: "Forgive us our sins, according to how we forgive others." (Or to put it another way, "Lord, don't forgive us our sins unless we forgive others who hurt us." It is sobering stuff that we pray every day.

Saint Paul confirms this in the second reading. We live now for God and not for ourselves. Ego, hurt pride, and moral outrage are barriers to reconciliation, understanding, and healing. We must let go of pride, entitlement, and a sense of moral outrage and open our hearts generously and "self-forgettingly." Then, we begin to think and feel the love that is God's very nature.

Let us continue to promote that awareness that we are all in communion with one another with the One God… What we do to others, we are taken as doing to God himself….

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References:

Homily:  Fr Paul W. Kelly

Bergant, D. and Fragomeni, R. (2001). Preaching the new lectionary. Year A. Collegeville, Minn.: Liturgical Press.

DeBona, G. (2013). Between the Ambo and the altar. Year A. 1st ed. Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press, pp.246-249

Image Credit- Shutterstock Licensed. Stock Photo ID: 2098415623 - When you wake up. PRAY. When life gets hard. PRAY. If you are unsure. When you are happy, God's always with us. Handwritten message. Photo Contributor: Olga Ganovicheva

Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year A  (Sunday, September 17, 2023)  (EPISODE: 439 )

The Lord be with you.

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{{May God's Spirit of Wisdom and understanding abide in you.}} welcome everyone, we gather -  To take time to reflect upon the meaning of God's word for our everyday lives. On this Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year A

My brothers and sisters, trusting in God's mercy and love, let us call to mind our sins.

Lord Jesus, you raise us to new life: Lord, have mercy

Lord Jesus, you forgive us our sins: Christ, have mercy

Lord Jesus, you feed us with your body and blood: Lord, have mercy

May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life.  Amen.

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Memorial Acclamation

1. We proclaim your Death, O Lord, and profess your Resurrection until you come again.

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Ps 103:1-2, 3-4, 9-10, 11-12. "The Lord is kind and merciful; slow to anger and rich in compassion."

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (John 13:34). Alleluia, alleluia! I give you a new commandment. Love one another as I have loved you.

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PREFACE: Sundays Ordinary I

Eucharistic Prayer III

Communion side.  pwk: 

(theme variation: 3 )

(post version: v1-short)

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{Thanks for joining us for this time of prayer and reflection}

Go in peace.(glorifying the Lord by your life)

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Archive of homilies and reflections:  http://homilycatholic.blogspot.com.au

To contact Fr. Paul, please email:  paulwkelly68@gmail.com

To listen to my weekly homily audio podcast, please click this link here:  https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/tracks

You are welcome to subscribe to Fr Paul's homily mail-out by sending an email to this address: paulkellyreflections+subscribe@googlegroups.com

Further information relating to the audio productions linked to this Blog:

"Faith, Hope and Love - Christian worship and reflection" - Led by Rev Paul Kelly

Prayers and chants — Roman Missal, 3rd edition, © 2010, The International Commission on English in the liturgy. (ICEL)

Scriptures - New Revised Standard Version: © 1989, and 2009 by the NCC-USA. (National Council of Churches of Christ - USA)

"The Psalms" ©1963, 2009, The Grail - Collins publishers.

Prayers of the Faithful - " Together we pray" by Robert Borg'. E.J. Dwyer, Publishers, (1993). (Sydney Australia).

Sung "Mass in Honour of St. Ralph Sherwin" - By Jeffrey M. Ostrowski. The Gloria,  Copyright © 2011 ccwatershed.org.

"Faith, Hope and Love" theme hymn - In memory of William John Kelly (1942-2017) - Inspired by 1 Corinthians 13:1-13. Music by Paul W. Kelly. Arranged and sung, with additional lyrics by Stefan Kelk. 2019.

"Quiet Time."  Instrumental Reflection music. Written by Paul W Kelly. 1988, 2007. & This arrangement: Stefan Kelk, 2020.

"Today I Arise" - For Trisha J Kelly.  Original words and music by Paul W. Kelly. Inspired by St Patrick's Prayer.  Arranged and sung, with additional lyrics by Stefan Kelk. 2019.

Sound Engineering and editing - P.W. Kelly.

Microphones: - Shure Motiv MV5 Digital Condenser.

Editing equipment:    -- MixPad Multitrack Studio Recording Software v10.49 (NCH Software).

NCH – WavePad Audio Editing Software. Masters Edition v 17.63 (NCH Software)

Sound Processing:  iZotope RX 10 Audio Editor (Izotope Inc.)

[ Production -  KER -  2023]

May God bless and keep you.

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