The Memorial of St Clare

Ezk. 12:1-12, Mt. 18:21-19:1. In today's first reading, the prophet Ezekiel describes two symbolic actions by which God intended Israel to learn a vital lesson. He carried his belongings through a hole in the city walls, silently with his head covered, so as to see the land no more. He ate his bread and drank water in a state of trembling. This signified that the wall of Jerusalem would be destroyed and the people would be forced to pack up and go into exile. This is in response to the unfaithful actions which the people committed in opposition to God’s commands. These action fascinated the people and absorbed their attention, offering them a period of grace to think and pray. As we enjoy moment of grace daily, we are challenge to learn how to offer everyone such moments of grace and forgiveness. Learning to forgive those who have hurt us is probably one of the greatest challenges in life. Peter’s question to Jesus as the beginning of today's Gospel came from that sense of how difficult it is to forgive someone: "How often must I forgive my brother?"

The implication of his question is that there has to be a limit to forgiveness. Peter decided to err on the generous side, suggesting seven times would be often enough. In the Biblical culture of the time, seven was considered to be the complete number. To forgive seven times is complete forgiveness; surely, no more could be asked of someone. Yet, Jesus does ask more, not seven times, but seventy seven times, for there should be no limit to our willingness to forgive. Jesus underpinned this challenging call with the parable of the unforgiving steward. In that parable the servant owed his master ten thousand talents. In the parable, the master felt so sorry for his servant that he simply cancelled the debt completely. Here, we have the triumph of grace over justice. There is an image here of the gracious and generous way that God deals with us. In this parable, Jesus reveals a God whose mercy triumphs over justice. This parable reminds us that we must allow the mercy that God freely pours into our lives to flow through us to touch others. St Clare whose memorial we celebrate allowed the mercy of God to flow through her in her concern for the poor. St Clare of Assisi, was one of the early members of the Franciscan religious movement, as a contemporary of St Francis of Assisi, the founder of the Franciscans. Clare was the founder of the Order of Poor Ladies, a monastic order founded upon the Franciscan charism and way of life.

May the Lord be with us as we start a new day, move our hearts to seek Him and our wills to serve Him! Amen!! Good morning and do have a great day!!!