Tuesday of the third week of Lent

Invitation

May I draw your attention to
the daily reading of the Gospel?

This invitation is intended to share with you the joy
of the Gospel. Everyone, without exception,
can experience that joy by opening their heart
to the healing power of God’s word.

Available every day.

Consideration
The first reading must be understood in the context of the history of Israel. That history was initially a triumphant journey from the wandering patriarchs, through slavery in Egypt, to the exodus, the conquest of Canaan and the height of the monarchy. Then the decline began, and in the end nothing remained: no city, no temple, no king, no monarchy. Nothing could be worse for an empire that was supposed to last forever. Azariah’s prayer is set in this context. Today we pray it on behalf of all people in deepest need.

FIRST READING                       Dan . 3, 25, 34-43

Let us find favour in your sight because of our broken hearts and our humble spirits.

From the Prophet Daniel

In those days,
Azariah stood and prayed:
“For the sake of your name, do not reject us forever,
do not break your covenant,
do not withdraw your mercy from us,
for the sake of Abraham, your friend, for the sake of Isaac, your servant,
and for the sake of Israel, your holy one.
“To them you promised to make their descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky
and the grains of sand on the seashore.
“But now, Lord, we have become the smallest of all the nations on earth
and nowhere in the world do we still have any significance
because of our sins.
“We now have no king, no prophet, no leader,
“We now have no king, no prophet, no leader,
no burnt offerings and sacrifices, no food offerings and incense,
not even a holy place where we can offer sacrifices to You
in order to experience Your mercy.
“But let us find favour with You
because of our broken hearts and our humble spirits.
“May our sacrifice today consist of perfect devotion to You,
and may it please You as much
as if we came with burnt offerings of rams and bulls
and with tens of thousands of fat lambs,
for no reproach befalls those who trust in You.
“Now we follow You with all our hearts;
we revere You and seek You.
“Let us not be put to shame,
but deal with us according to Your goodness
and according to Your great mercy.
“Save us in Your wonderful way
and glorify, Lord, Your name.”

INTERLUDIO                       Ps. 25(24), 4bc-5ab, 6-7bc, 8-9

Remember your mercy, Lord.

Show me your ways, Lord,
teach me your paths.
Guide me according to your word,
for you are my God and my Saviour.

Remember your mercy, Lord,
your everlasting compassion.
Do not remember the sins of my youth,
but remember me with mercy.

The Lord is good and righteous,
therefore He shows sinners the way.
He guides the humble along honourable paths,
He teaches the simple what they must do.

VERSES BEFORE THE GOSPEL                                Joel 2, 12-13

Repent to Me with all your heart, says the Lord,
for I am gracious and merciful.

GOSPEL                                Matthew 18, :21-35

Whoever does not forgive his brother from his heart, the Father will not forgive him either.

From the Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to
Matthew

At that time, Peter came to Jesus and said:
“Lord, if my brother wrongs me,
how often must I forgive him?
“Up to seven times?”
Jesus answered him:
“No, I tell you,
not seven times,
but seventy times seven times.
“Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a king
who wanted to settle accounts
with his servants.
“When he began to do so, someone was brought to him
who owed him ten thousand talents.
“Since he had nothing to pay, his master ordered him to be sold, along with his wife and children and all his possessions, to pay the debt.
The servant fell on his knees before him and begged him,
‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you everything.
The master took pity on him, cancelled the debt, and let him go.
“The master took pity on that servant,
let him go, and forgave him the borrowed sum.
“But when that servant went outside,
he found another servant
who owed him a hundred denarii;
he grabbed him by the throat and said,
‘Pay what you owe.
“The other servant fell down before him and begged him, saying,
‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.
“But he refused and had him thrown into prison
until he paid his debt.
“When the other servants saw what had happened,
they were greatly distressed
and went and reported everything to their master.
“Then the master summoned him and said:
You wicked servant,
I forgave you all that debt
because you begged me to.
“Shouldn’t you also
have had mercy on your fellow servant,
as I had mercy on you?
“And in anger,
his master handed him over to the torturers
until he had paid his entire debt.
“So also will my heavenly Father deal with each of you
who does not wholeheartedly forgive his brother.”

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Laudato Si

Encyclical of

POPE FRANCIS

On Care for Our Common Home

52. The foreign debt of poor countries has become an instrument of control,
but this is not the case with ecological debt. In various ways, developing countries, where the
most important reserves of the biosphere are located, contribute to the development
of the richest countries at the expense of their own present and future. The
soil of the poor in the South is rich and little polluted, but
access to the ownership of goods and resources to
meet their own needs is denied to them by a
structurally perverse system of trade and ownership. It is necessary for the developed countries to contribute to settling this debt by limiting their use of non-renewable energy and providing the most needy countries with resources and political programmes that support sustainable development. The poorest regions and countries have fewer opportunities to use new models to reduce their environmental impact, because they cannot cover the costs.
Therefore, it must be clearly understood that there are differentiated responsibilities in climate change and, as the bishops of the United States have said, it is appropriate to take into account the capacity of each country to contribute to the solution.
The most developed countries must therefore take the lead in reducing their own emissions and in providing the necessary resources to help the developing countries to do the same. Therefore, we must remain clearly aware that there are differentiated responsibilities in climate change and, as the bishops of the United States have said, it is appropriate to focus “especially” on “the needs of the poor, the weak and the vulnerable in a debate that is often dominated by the most powerful interests”.
We must strengthen the awareness that we are one human family.
There are no political and social boundaries and barriers that allow us to isolate ourselves, and that is precisely why there is no room for the globalisation of indifference.
To be continued
Every day at 1 am.