The Feast of St Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist.

 "Jesus... saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post. He said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him." (Matthew 9: 9).

Monday 21st September 2020, 25th Week in Ordinary Time is the feast of St Matthew the Apostle. Jewish. Evangelist. Author of the Gospel according to St Matthew. Died a martyr.

A man called Matthew was called by Jesus to follow Him. The man left everything: job, money, house and property and friends and followed the stranger called Jesus. Matthew was not a saint when Jesus called him. But Jesus did not come to call saints. He called Paul who describes his calling thus:

"I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service.  Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus." (1 Timothy 1: 12 - 14).

Jesus delights in sinners because sinners give Him the opportunity to show off His mercy. Why did Jesus institute the Sacred Heart of Jesus Devotion? The Divine Mercy Devotion? Mercy may well be the last covenant with mankind.

For Prayer to Abba Father to check out your life Purpose: the Choice, the Call and the Anointing, click on the link below:

http://seekfirstcommunity.com/2020/09/abba-father.html?m=1

Daily Bible Verse @ SeekFirstcommunity.com 

Practical steps to help you forgive sins against you.

"Moved with compassion the master of that servant let him go and forgave him the loan." (Matthew 18: 27).

Sunday 13th September 2020, 24th Week in Ordinary Time.

God self-revelation to Moses is:  I am a God of mercy and compassion.  Be holy as I am holy. If we receive mercy from God, we must show mercy to others. It is not okay to say that it difficult to forgive. Sirach in the first Reading today portrays a divine quid pro quo when it comes to forgiving our neighbor. "Forgive your neighbor the wrong done to you; then when you pray, your own sins will be forgiven." (Sirach 28: 2).

Notice the punch in Sirach: "A sinner like yourself."
"Can one refuse mercy to a sinner like oneself, yet seek pardon for one’s own sins?" (Sirach 28: 4).

Jesus says the same in today's Gospel.
"I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to.  Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?" (Matthew 18: 32 - 33).

I have struggled with the question of forgiveness. Below is what has helped me:

#1 Forgive the offense immediately. Everywhere, always, for everything, for everyone without discrimination.
#2 Pray blessings on the offender morning and evening. Continue to pray for the offender until you are healed of the hurt.
#3 Ask God to grant the grace to everyone you have offended to forgive you and set you free. I have practiced #1 and #2 for years before it occurred to me that there are people out there that I have offended.
#4 If you do not read the word of God regularly, you will never understand anything about God's mercy and will find it difficult to forgive.

Our Responsorial Psalm 103 for today is on the mercy of God.

"The Lord is kind and merciful, slow to anger, and rich in compassion.
Bless the Lord, O my soul;
and all my being, bless his holy name.
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits.
He pardons all your iniquities,
heals all your ills.
He redeems your life from destruction, crowns you with kindness and compassion."

Daily Bible Verse @ Seekfirstcommunity.com

Be merciful as your Father is merciful.

"Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful." (Luke 6: 36).

Thursday 10th September 2020, 23rd Week in Ordinary Time.

Our word for the day is from the Gospel of Luke 6: 27 - 38. How can we be merciful as the Father is merciful? What is mercy? The dictionary defines mercy as: "compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one's power to punish or harm." In other words, mercy is a gratuitous forgiveness of an offense where the offender is rightly waiting the hammer to strike.

In my opinion, the greatest example of mercy is in the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant. This servant owes his master millions of dollars which he could never repay. His master would sell his entire family and all his possessions, put him into slave work for the rest of his life to recover a tiny portion of his debt. Then the miracle happened. He was forgiven everything. The servant did not forgive his fellow servant who owed him a tiny amount.

"You wicked servant! I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to.  Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?’" (Matthew 18: 32 - 33).

"Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful." (Luke 6: 36). Jesus teaches us that the merciful Heart of God is unfathomable. Like a bottomless ocean. Anyone could see this in the Old Testament. Covenant after Covenant that was shredded by His ungrateful People. Yet when they suffer the consequences of their sins, one cry to God and He is at their side, forgiving them and ready to start all over again.

Divine Mercy Devotion is Jesus' gift to the Church. He desires that no man should be ignorant of the infinite mercy of God. The heart of the Devotion is as simple as ABC and is summarized by the ABC of Mercy:

A: Ask for Mercy.
B: Be Merciful.
C: Completely trust Jesus for Mercy.

This is how we can be merciful as our Father is merciful.

Daily Bible Verse @ SeekFirstcommunity.com

Let us strive to know Jesus

Hosea 6:6

"For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice,
the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings."

Abba Father, grant us the grace to know the Heart of Jesus intimately, to love Him passionately and to follow Him everywhere.

Seekfirst.blogspot.com