“Lord, you reward your faithful servants with prosperity, but for servants not of your mind, your justice will come and you will deliver your people from oppression and slavery. As the city of Hong Kong is under threats of abusive control, we pray for your mercy. Amongst adversaries and oppression, we believe your Word and Grace shall bring back the confidence and hope of your people.”
Prayer taken from Hong Kong diocese cancels pro-democracy prayer in newspapers
Back in the early 70’s, I remember my mom and dad having a discussion about the Church and all the changes taking place. SSPX was brought into the conversation and keep in mind, if you didn’t live through this time, you can’t imagine the confusion for souls who didn’t understand what was taking place. My dad had asked my mom what advise my great uncle was giving. Keep in mind, my great uncle was a Catholic Priest, who was living in Communist Slovakia. My mom told my dad, he said: Stick with Peter. And we did.
We must not fear what our Lord brings about. It is His Church. He is the Head. We are His members.
Bishop Robert Barron has a GREAT video today, on the subject of Vatican II which I must share.
Novena to St. Peter
St Peter, now that we are aware of the pressures the priests and bishops, cardinals and The Holy Father of Mother Church are under, I ask that you hear my prayer for you to send protection, guidance, support and encouragement to them, not forgetting the seminaries and the Brides Of Christ. The devil has been strong in recent times, not least in the last century and the beginning of this one. I ask that you intercede and ask St Michael and the archangels to fight the battle which needs to be fought for them. The Devil hides within holes throughout the centuries and I ask that you help the angels to find the places no matter how well hidden where he lurks and meddles from.
I know you shall not fail for my having asked you and I know that my prayers will be answered. The devil so often commands the moment. We are blessed to know that the eternal is the essential and we place our faith and knowledge in The Truth that our faith blesses us to know.
For the love of Jesus and the loving balm of the Holy Mother, help Mother Church to save Human Dignity. Amen
I pledge to pray this every day for nine days – (or 54 days) and network this so that all Catholics are made aware of its existence.
Continuing with yesterday’s post, we move into today’s Gospel. Always. How many times must I forgive? Always. It’s hard to think of doing this, especially when someone has hurt us, or when someone continues to hurt us, or when we see someone consistently making bad choices which move them to take out their own frustrations on us. BUT, it is necessary, as we know how much our Lord has forgiven us, when we too have been on that same path. As we forgive others, our Heavenly Father has forgiven us.
Matthew 18:21-22: Forgive seventy times seven! Before the words of Jesus on fraternal correction and reconciliation, Peter asks, “How often must I forgive? Seven times?” Seven is a number which indicates perfection and, in the case of Peter’s proposal, seven is synonymous with always. But Jesus goes beyond. He eliminates whatever possible limitation there may be to pardon: “Not seven, I tell you, but seventy-seven times”. It is as if He would say “Always, Peter! Even seventy seven times! Always!” This is because there is no proportion between God’s love for us and our love for our brother. Here we recall the episode of the Old Testament of Lamech: “Lamech says to his wives, Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; listen to what I say: I killed a man for wounding me, a boy for striking me. Sevenfold vengeance for Cain, but seventy-sevenfold for Lamech” (Gen 4:23-24). The task of the communities is to reverse the process of the spiral of violence. In order to clarify His response to Peter, Jesus tells them the parable of pardon without limits.
Please read more, HERE
Today’s Gospel beings the discourse of our Lord, in how to properly correct a soul who has failed. Keep in mind, “failure” is not the end, but a moment to address where the soul has gone wrong and rectify it, in love.
The Carmelites have a beautiful reflection on this today, and I MUST share it.
Matthew 18:15-18: Fraternal correction and the power to forgive. These verses give simple norms of how to proceed in case of conflicts in the community. If a brother or a sister should sin, if they had behavior not in accordance to the life of the community, they should not be denounced immediately. First, it is necessary to try to speak with them alone. Then it is necessary to try to know the reasons of the other. If no results are obtained, then it is necessary to take two or three persons of the community to see if it is possible to obtain some result. Only in extreme cases is it necessary to expose the problem to the whole community. If the person refuses to listen to the community, then they should be considered by you as “a sinner or a pagan”, that is, as someone who is not part of the community. Therefore, it is not you who excludes, but it is the person himself/herself who excludes himself/herself. The community gathered together only verifies or ratifies the exclusion. The grace to be able to forgive and to reconcile in the name of God was given to Peter (Mt 16:19), to the Apostles ( Jn 20: 23) and, here in the Discourse on the Community, to the community itself (Mt 18:18). This reveals the importance of the decisions which the community assumes in regard to its members.
Please see the rest of this reflection HERE
Peg Pondering Again 