23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time(Cycle A, Year II)
Community Word: Opening our heart to God fulfills His commandment of love.

Theme: We fulfill God’s commandment of love when we lead others to be reconciled with one another.

Promise: “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” (Mt 18:20)

Reflection:
How do we lead others to be reconciled with one another so that harmony, peace and love will reign in their relationships? This is a challenging question as we reflect on our theme for the week – We fulfill God’s commandment of love when we lead others to be reconciled with one another.

Mother Teresa once said, “People are often unreasonable, illogical and self-centered.”How right can she be; we are so because of our weak human nature. Being in the world, influenced and predisposed to “herd mentality,” we easily succumb to the temptation of being apathetic and insensible. But then, we have been renewed by the Spirit of God. We may be in this world but we are not of this world. We are commanded by our King to love one another as He has loved us. This leads us to ask ourselves, how do we love?

The Holy Spirit summons us to place ourselves in the proper disposition so as not to become indifferent and uncaring. Psalm 95:6 tells us, “Come, let us bow down in worship; let us kneel before the Lord who made us.” We can then be inspired and driven to minister to our brethren, for it is the Spirit of the Living God who gives us counsel on what to say and do. It is by His grace that we are able to love as Jesus loves, with all humility and empathy. Romans 13:10 says, “Love does no evil to the neighbor; hence, love is the fulfillment of the law.” We are reminded to be always motivated by love and peaceful ways, never for personal gain or influenced by what others would say. Compassionate love, coupled with a life of prayer, a sincere listening ear, being a peacemaker, a good witness, and practicing reconciliation, are virtues which can demonstrate and concretize our theme.

Listening is a challenge we need to hurdle. In the many years that we have been in community we observed that some members left because they did not feel being listened to, or they felt ignored. Sometimes, we fail to be perceptive and just hear what we want to hear. But in order to have a listening ear, we need to set aside our biases and prejudices and be sensitive to the whisper of the Holy Spirit from our heart.

Jesus tells us, “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother,” (Mt.18:15). Are you the brother who sinned, or are you the person who has been wronged? Regardless, as Christians, we must be living models of forgiveness and reconciliation. We forgive not only for the benefit of the other person, but also for our well-being and peace of mind.

We initiate reconciliation because that is what Jesus tells us to do, not to be a cause or instigators of dissent and discord in our family, community or work place. Even if we are diverse in culture and diverse in gifts, “we are a community of disciples inspired by the Holy Spirit to be living witnesses for transformation in Christ to bring about a world of justice, human development and true peace” – as our Vision states.

We are called to love one another despite our differences; to be peacemakers and collaborators of the work Jesus started, to establish peace and bring justice to all, that we may inherit God’s promise of eternal life. We are not alone in this endeavor because Jesus is with us. He promises, “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them,” (Mt 18:20).

Prayer:
Abba Father, today we have heard You speak to us to be Your living witnesses for the reconciliation of everyone, motivated by Your true love. We ask you, Lord, to cause us to be Your channel of peace, reconciliation and unity to our circle of influences. Amen.
Reflection Guide Questions:
1. How do you lead others to be reconciled with one another so that harmony and peacewill reign in your relationships?

2. What areas in your life do you find hard to, or hinder you from practicing forgiveness? How do plan to resolve them?
This Week’s Daily Mass Reading Guide:
Aug 23, 2020 (Sun)–Ez 33:7-9/ Ps 95:1-2.6-7, 8-9/ Rom 13:8-10/ Mt 18:15-20
Aug 24, 2020 (Mon)–1 Cor 5:1-8/ Ps 5/ Lk 6:6-11
Aug 25, 2020 (Tues)–Mi 5:1-4a/ Ps 13/ Mt i:18-23
Aug 26, 2020 (Wed) –1 Cor 7:25-31/ Ps 45/ Lk 6:20-26
Aug 27, 2020 (Thurs) –1 Cor 8:1b-7, 11-13/ Ps 139/ Lk 6:27-38
Aug 28, 2020 (Fri)–1 Cor 9:16-19, 22b-27/ Ps 84/ Lk 6:39-42
Aug 29, 2020 (Sat)–1 Cor 10:14-22/ Ps 116/ Lk 6:43-49

“Ignorance of the Bible is ignorance of Christ. Read your Bible daily!”