Memorial of Saint Josaphat, Bishop and Martyr
Intention: That all people will make each day a time of reconciliation and healing as we rededicate ourselves to the work of building a better world.
Today’s Gospel | Luke 17:26-37
Jesus said to his disciples: “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the days of the Son of Man; they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage up to the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Similarly, as it was in the days of Lot: they were eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, building; on the day when Lot left Sodom, fire and brimstone rained from the sky to destroy them all. So it will be on the day the Son of Man is revealed. On that day, someone who is on the housetop and whose belongings are in the house must not go down to get them, and likewise one in the field must not return to what was left behind. Remember the wife of Lot. Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses it will save it. I tell you, on that night there will be two people in one bed; one will be taken, the other left. And there will be two women grinding meal together; one will be taken, the other left.” They said to him in reply, “Where, Lord?” He said to them, “Where the body is, there also the vultures will gather.”
From the Eleventh Meditation for the Time of Retreat | Saint John Baptist de La Salle
You, who are teachers of those you guide, must take all possible care to bring those under your guidance into the liberty of the children of God, which Jesus Christ obtained for us by dying for us. To do this, you need to have two qualities in your relationship with them. The first is gentleness and patience. The second is prudence in your reproofs and corrections.
Prayer
Eternal Father, forgiving does not always come easily to us. It can be hard for us to let go of our anger or to trust someone’s apology. It takes faith to accept that forgiveness is an act of strength and not a sign of weakness. Lord, help our lack of faith. Teach us to live our hopes rather than our fears and to reach out to others as brothers and sisters. In forgiving and in being forgiven, may we find paths to one another and to you. We ask this of you who lives and reigns with your Son and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.