SEVENTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR (A)
February 19, 2023
First Reading (Leviticus 19:1-2, 17-18)

The LORD said to Moses, "Speak to the whole Israelite community and tell them: Be holy, for I, the LORD, your God, am holy. "You shall not bear hatred for your brother or sister in your heart. Though you may have to reprove your fellow citizen, do not incur sin because of him. Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against any of your people. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD."

Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 103:1-4, 8, 10, 12-13)

Refrain: The Lord is kind and merciful.

1) 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.(Refrain:)

2) He pardons all your iniquities, heals all your ills.
He redeems your life from destruction, crowns you with kindness and compassion.(Refrain:)

3) Merciful and gracious is the LORD, slow to anger and abounding in kindness.
Not according to our sins does he deal with us, nor does he requite us according to our crimes.(Refrain:)

4) As far as the east is from the west, so far has he put our transgressions from us.
As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him.(Refrain:)

Second Reading (1 Corinthians 3:16-23)

Brothers and sisters: Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy that person; for the temple of God, which you are, is holy. Let no one deceive himself. If any one among you considers himself wise in this age, let him become a fool, so as to become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in the eyes of God, for it is written: God catches the wise in their own ruses, and again: The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain. So let no one boast about human beings, for everything belongs to you, Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the world or life or death, or the present or the future: all belong to you, and you to Christ, and Christ to God.

Gospel (Matthew 5: 38-48)

Jesus said to his disciples: "You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other one as well. If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic, hand over your cloak as well. Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go for two miles. Give to the one who asks of you, and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow. "You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.

For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brothers only what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same? So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect."

(Copyright 1970, 1986, 1992, 1998, 2001 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc. Washington D.C. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Copyright 1970, 1997, 1998 Contraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc. Washington, D.C. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

The English translation of some Psalm responses, some Alleluia and Gospel verses and the Lenten Gospel Acclamations, some Summaries, and the Titles and Conclusion of the Readings, from the Lectionary for Mass copyright 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc., Washington D.C. All rights reserved.

The poetic English translation of the sequences of the Roman Missal are taken from the Roman Missal approved by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops of the United States, copyright 1964 by the National Catholic Welfare Conference, Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission of ICEL.)

Another possible illustration:

(From http://www.immaculee.com/index.php?view=article&id=1 )

Homily

Justice or Forgiveness?

This gospel passage has our Lord quoting probably one of the most famous texts in all of Scripture: an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. In researching this passage, I came across the following commentary which I found to be very informative. The author, William Barclay, writes:

In essence, this principle of “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” addresses a basic human need for retribution, revenge and vengeance, or as Barclay notes “retaliation”, to address a wrong. In the days before there was a judge and jury, it was really a basic form of justice. And all of these words, (justice, judge and jury) and many more that have to do with justice, derive their origin from the Latin root jus which means “right” or “law”.

But as Barclay also noted so well, “retaliation has no place in the Christian life”. Why is this? Because it is replaced in the Christian’s life by forgiveness, a principle which Christ showed us from the cross when, in a time of his most excruciating pain, he said “Father, forgive them; they know not what they do”. (It should be noted that the word “excruciating” also comes from Latin roots which mean “from the cross”.)

Some of you know that I have had a website for preachers on the internet for almost as long as I've been a deacon. Over the years, I think the topic on which I have read the most stories, and some of the most moving ones, has been on what this text is all about, namely forgiveness. Out of all those stories, I think the one that is most relevant to this text is the following one with which I’m sure you are all too familiar.

It’s hard to believe that Lent is still more than a week away (normally we are well into it by now; not that I can’t wait for it to arrive, mind you!!) but this illustration reminds us of one of the principal themes of the Lenten season, namely, reconciliation. In situations like this, many of us might be compelled to ask: where was God? Well, He certainly was not in the murder of, and injury to, those innocent children; but rather He was present in the almost unbelievable response of the families of the victims, a response rooted in their profound faith.

Note that in our story, one father, when speaking of Charles Roberts, said “now he’s standing before a just God”. In other words, he acknowledged that judging Roberts was not his place; it belonged only to God, the just judge. He believed that the responsibility of the community was to offer him and his family only one thing: forgiveness. This is based on their belief that in order to be forgiven by God for their transgressions, they must be willing to forgive others.

We all know that this is not easy. It flies in the face of all of the natural human feelings that we spoke of earlier: revenge, retaliation, retribution and vengeance. But nevertheless, it is what we are called to do if we call ourselves Christians, that is, followers of Christ. If we are his followers, then we try to the best of our ability to live by the principles that he has taught us. And one of the most basic is forgiveness, a principle that can only be achieved through faith, as the Amish demonstrated so well.

Perhaps in your own lives you are dealing with situations that challenge your own faith and your ability to forgive. We all need to pray that the Spirit will give us the strength to be faithful followers of Christ and to make this virtue a part of our lives.

References:

1. From the Gospel of Matthew, copyright 1975 by William Barclay. St. Andrew Press, Edinburgh, Scotland. Used with permission. 

2. From Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amish_school_shooting.

(Copyright 2017 by the Spirit through Deacon Sil Galvan with a little help from the friends noted above. Permission is freely granted for use, in whole or in part, in oral presentations. For permission to use in writing, please contact the human intermediary at deaconsil@comcast.net.)

SEVENTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR (A)
February 19, 2023
Penitential Rite

Lord Jesus, you pardon all our iniquities. Lord, have mercy.

Christ Jesus, you call us to be reconciled with one another. Christ, have mercy.

Lord Jesus, you call us to love our neighbor as ourselves. Lord, have mercy.

SEVENTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR (A)
February 19, 2023
Prayers of the Faithful

Celebrant: Our Lord has called us to love one another as we love ourselves. Keeping in mind the needs of his people and confident that Christ will intercede for us, we bring our prayers and petitions to the Father.

Deacon/Lector: Our response is "Lord, hear our prayer".

That the leaders of the Church will show God's love for others by what they say and by what they do, we pray to the Lord.

That the leaders of the nations of the world will do all in their power to bring peace on earth and end the war in Ukraine, we pray to the Lord.

That our community will demonstrate our love for others through our caring concern for all those in need, we pray to the Lord.

That we may all come to forgive those who have hurt us and that we may also be forgiven for any wrongs we have caused, we pray to the Lord.

For all of the intentions we hold in our hearts and which we now recall in silence. (Pause) For all of these intentions, we pray to the Lord.

Celebrant: Gracious Father, your Son has called us to love our neighbor as ourselves. Grant us the grace of your Spirit to be reconciled with one another and thus fulfill the heart of your law which is love. We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen.