Weekly thoughts on the Sunday Gospel, readings or a topic...

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seeing your life through the lens of the gospels  
– Matthew 18:21-35
1. Jesus surprised Peter by telling him he needed to forgive seventy-seven times. Perhaps you have known the truth of this when something reminds you of a past hurt and you find you need in your heart to forgive again the person who hurt you. What was this like for you? How has a capacity to have a forgiving heart helped you?
2. Sometimes we need to forgive ourselves for things we regret about past behaviour. What happens to you when you cannot do this? How has your ability to forgive yourself for past mistakes influenced your attitude towards yourself now?
3. Pope Francis chose as his motto ‘miserando atque eligendo’ (seen with compassion and chosen) to express his belief that Jesus viewed his past mistakes with compassion, and called him nonetheless. At this moment, can you see Jesus calling you, no matter what your past has been like?
4. Are there people whose ability to forgive has inspired you? Recall them and the forgiveness they showed and give thanks for their example.  
– John Byrne, OSA

The Deep End
The parable of the unforgiving servant highlights the generous love of God and sets a blueprint for our treatment of others. The master who cancels the servant’s large debt does so out of compassion, and the servant is grateful – but not so grateful that he is willing to take pity on a fellow servant who owes him just a small amount. It seems he has learnt nothing; he has neither appreciated the gift he has been given, nor is he willing to pass it on to others.
We are each loved infinitely by God. He has provided us with every good thing, and we are expected to live accordingly. Because we have been loved, we must love. In this Season of Creation, we focus in particular on our relationship with creation. We have been gifted with this wonderful world, with all its beauty and natural resources. Yet in so many ways, we have failed to appreciate this gift. We depend entirely on the earth’s resources, yet instead of respecting them we have plundered them, causing great harm to the earth and its inhabitants. We have built comfortable and cheap lifestyles at the expense of the world’s poorest people. If we carry on this way, there will be no gift to pass on to future generations. We are like the servant in the gospel – taking, but giving nothing in return.
Today, we are called to act as people who are loved infinitely by God. All of creation speaks of God’s love for us. We are deeply connected with the earth and all of its people. We must live a life which is not centred exclusively on ourselves, but on the needs of others.
‘Creation can only be understood as a gift from the outstretched hand of the Father of all, and as a reality illuminated by the love which calls us together into universal communion.’ (Pope Francis, Laudato Si’)  
– Tríona Doherty

(from Intercom)