The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today exhort us to trust in God to help us find compassion, mercy, and forgiveness when we have been hurt by others.
The reading from the Book of Daniel describes the desperate situation of Azariah and his companions.
* [3:24–90] These verses are additions to the Aramaic text of Daniel, translated from the Greek form of the book. They were probably first composed in Hebrew or Aramaic, but are no longer extant in the original language. The Roman Catholic Church has always regarded them as part of the canonical Scriptures. (Daniel, CHAPTER 3 | USCCB, n.d.)
Psalms 25 is a prayer for Guidance and for Deliverance.
* [Psalm 25] A lament. Each verse begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Such acrostic Psalms are often a series of statements only loosely connected. The psalmist mixes ardent pleas (Ps 25:1–2, 16–22) with expressions of confidence in God who forgives and guides. (Psalms, PSALM 25 | USCCB, n.d.)
The Gospel of Matthew presents the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant.
* [18:21–35] The final section of the discourse deals with the forgiveness that the disciples are to give to their fellow disciples who sin against them. To the question of Peter how often forgiveness is to be granted (Mt 18:21), Jesus answers that it is to be given without limit (Mt 18:22) and illustrates this with the parable of the unmerciful servant (Mt 18:23–34), warning that his heavenly Father will give those who do not forgive the same treatment as that given to the unmerciful servant (Mt 18:35). Mt 18:21–22 correspond to Lk 17:4; the parable and the final warning are peculiar to Matthew. That the parable did not originally belong to this context is suggested by the fact that it really does not deal with repeated forgiveness, which is the point of Peter’s question and Jesus’ reply. (Matthew, CHAPTER 18 | USCCB, n.d.)
Kent Beausoleil, S.J. comments that it can be immensely helpful at the end of each day to notice where we have seen God’s blessings and God’s invitations.
I love to keep a journal because it helps me to remember significant moments in my experience with God. When I am struggling in a time of spiritual desolation I can go back to my journals, re-read them, and be reminded of the ways that God is working in my life. And as we remember and hold onto what is most important, it deepens in us as we share it with others. It is in community, with close friends and family that we can come to know the gifts God has given us even more deeply, and for these things, may we all give thanks. (Beausoleil, 2024)
Don Schwager quotes “A daily remedy for our sins,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"Forgive us our debts as we also forgive our debtors. Let us say this sentence with sincerity, because it is an alms in itself. Sins that oppress and bury us cannot be termed trifles! What is more minute than drops of rain? Yet they fill the rivers. What is more minute than grains of wheat? Yet they fill the barns. You note the fact that these sins are rather small, but you do not take note that there are many of them. In any case, God has given us a daily remedy for them." (excerpt from Sermon 205,1) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on Daniel 3:25, 34-43 comments that we’ve all been “in the fire” at one time or another—difficult times that make us realize we don’t have the strength, energy, or power to help ourselves, never mind offer anything to the Lord. We may struggle to worship him the way we did in better times. We can only come to God, as these men did, and offer him a contrite heart and a humble spirit. That means admitting our weaknesses and limitations and looking only to God to rescue us.
The good news is, this is exactly what the Lord wants from us! Of course, he is pleased with our good deeds and our prayers. But he also knows that when we are at the end of our rope, we are able to see ourselves as we truly are: totally dependent on him. And amazingly, when we throw ourselves on God’s mercy and stop trying to change our situations on our own, he shows us just how powerfully he can work in our lives.
Whether or not you’re in a white-hot furnace today, offer yourself to the Lord with a contrite heart and a humble spirit. Do this every day, and trust him to do his work in you.
“Lord, I give myself to you, today and always.” (Meditation on Daniel 3:25, 34-43, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler comments on the chutzpah of Azariah as he addresses God about his predicament in the fiery furnace. Jesus' conversation in Matthew expresses the mercy we need to extend that puts no limit on our forgiveness of another’s transgressions. Friar Jude reminds us of the nature of purgatory that may be connected to the end of the Gospel account.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Marya Grathwohl, a Sister of St. Francis ,who describes soulful beauty in nature as the Divine Presence.
After almost fifty years of being a Franciscan Sister, I learned that beauty for Franciscan theologians and philosophers is the ultimate and most intimate knowing of God, another name for God, the name for God. Saint Bonaventure and Blessed John Duns Scotus teach that the beauty and diversity of creation nourish us through suffering and loss. When we’ve run out of purpose, when memories of war sicken us, when Earth is attacked with unparalleled savagery for coal, gas, oil, timber, and profit, when poverty runs rampant and extreme wealth for very few soars, when friends betray us, and everyone we love lives far away … then, still beauty endures, and helps us make it through. Like God…. [2]
I sense now that the soul knows itself and its life within the great compassionate Mystery we strive to name. Soul stirs, rises, grows toward and within the unnameable silence and beauty of God, a mothering watery God, a rain beyond Catholic, beyond any specific religion or creed, a rain that soothes us in suffering and challenges complacency. Soul flowers in this rain of the worlds, of meteor showers, of the cosmos. [3] (Rohr, 2017)
We ponder the depth of our forgiveness as we reflect on the situations on our journey when we felt injustice and loss.
References
Beausoleil, K. (2024, March 5). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved March 5, 2024, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/030524.html
Daniel, CHAPTER 3 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved March 5, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/daniel/3?25
Matthew, CHAPTER 18 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved March 5, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/18?21
Meditation on Daniel 3:25, 34-43. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved March 5, 2024, from https://wau.org/meditations/2024/03/05/907037/
Psalms, PSALM 25 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved March 5, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/25?4
Rohr, R. (2017, November 9). The Stones Cry Out. YouTube: Home. Retrieved March 5, 2024, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/the-stones-cry-out/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved March 5, 2024, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2024&date=mar5
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