SIRACH 48: 1 – 14

The prophet Elijah arose like a fire, and his word burned like a torch. He brought a famine upon them, and by his zeal he made them few in number. By the word of the Lord he shut up the heavens, and also three times brought down fire. How glorious you were, O Elijah, in your wondrous, deeds! And who has the right to boast which you have? You who raised a corpse from death and from Hades, by the word of the Most High; who brought kings down to destruction, and famous men from their beds, and easily destroyed their dominion; who heard rebuke at Sinai and judgements of vengeance at Horeb; who anointed kings to inflict retribution, and prophets to succeed you. You who were taken up by a whirlwind of fire, in a chariot with horses of fire; you who are ready at the appointed time, it is written, to calm the wrath of God before it breaks out in fury, to turn the heart of the father to the son, and to restore the tribes of Jacob. Blessed are those who saw you, and those who have fallen asleep in your love; for we also shall surely live, but our name, after death, will not be such. It was Elijah who was covered by the whirlwind, and Elisha was filled with his spirit; in all his days he did not tremble before any ruler, and no one brought him into subjection. Nothing was too hard for him, and when he was dead his body prophesied. As in his life he did wonders, so in death his deeds were marvellous.

The Word of the Lord.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM
Psalm 97: 1 – 2, 3 – 4, 5 – 6, 7 (R.) 12a

R/. Rejoice in the Lord, you just.

The Lord is king, let earth rejoice;
let the many islands be glad.
Cloud and darkness surround him;
justice and right are the foundation of his throne. R/.

A fire prepares his path;
it bums up his foes on every side.
His lightnings light up the world;
the earth looks on and trembles. R/.

The mountains melt like wax 
before the face of the Lord,
before the face of the Lord of all the earth.
The skies proclaim his justice; 
all peoples see his glory. R/.

Let those who serve idols be ashamed,
those who boast of their worthless gods.
All you angels, worship him. R/.

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION 
Romans 8: 15bc

Alleluia.
You have received the spirit of sonship; in him we cry, “Abba! Father!”
Alleluia.

GOSPEL
“Pray then like this.”
MATTHEW 6: 7 – 15

At that time: Jesus said to his disciples, “In praying do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Pray then like this: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil. For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father also will forgive you; but if you do not forgive men their trespasses neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

China 20 Chikumi – June;

Vhiki 11 regore –

Chiverengo chokutanga:
Sira 48,1-14

Inzwai chiverengo chinobva mubhuku raSira
Mwanangu, namazuva iwayo 1 kwakazomuka
Eriya, ainge moto; mazwi ake aipfuta sezhenje.
2Akauyisa nzara pavanhu; uye pamusana peshungu
dzake akaita kuti vasare vava vashoma.
3 Nezwi raMwari; akapfiga denga uyewo akatozomotsa moto katatu. Hakusi kurumbidzwa ikoko
kwaiitwa iwe Eriya nezviito zvako zvinoshamisa.
4 Hakusi kurumbidzwa ikoko kwaunoitwa iwe
Eriya, nezvishamiso zvako. Pane angazvirumbidzewo sewe here? 5 Wakamutsa munhu akanga
afa nezwi roWokumusorosoro, uchimuburitsa
munzvimbo yavakafa. 6 Iwe wakangondomesera
pasi madzimambo kundoparadzwa, kunyange
vanhu vairemekedzeka vaiva pauriri hwokurwara.
7 Kutsiura wakakunzwa wani uri kuSinai uye
kurangwa kwakatemwa ukakunzwa uri kuHorebhu.
8 Ndiwe wakazora madzimambo kuti atsividze,
nomuporofita kuti ave mutevedzeri wako. 9 Wakakwidzwa kudenga nechamupupuri chomoto, uri
mungoro yamabhiza omoto.
10 Zvakanyorwa kuti uchauya kuzopodza hasha
dzaMwari, dzisati dzaputika uchidzosera mwoyo
yamadzibaba kuvanakomana vavo nokudzorera
pakare madzinza okwaJakobho. 11 Zvavo avo
vanokuona naavowo vanofa murudo uyewo isu,
zvokuva vapenyu, tichava vapenyu chete.
12 Eriya akaputirwa nechamupupuri, Erisha
ndokubva azadzwa nemweya wake. Paupenyu
hwake hwose haana kumbodedera mutongi upi
zvake, kana naani zvake akamuisa pasi pesimba
rake. 13 Hapana chinhu chaakanga asingagoni
kuita; kunyange zvaakanga afa, chitunha chake
chaiporofita. 14 Achiri mupenyu aiita zvinoshamisa,
afa, aingoramba achiita zvinoshamisa.
Shoko raTenzi.

Rwiyo rwokutsinhira:
Nziyo 97,1-7. (D – 12)

(D) – Farai naTENZI imi makarurama.
1 TENZI ndimambo, nyika ngaifare,
imi zvitsuwa zvizhinji farai.
2 Makore nezarima zvakamukomberedza,
ururami noruenzaniso ndizvo hwaro
hwechigaro chake chokutonga.
(D) – Farai naTENZI imi makarurama.
3 Moto unofamba uri mberi kwake,
uchipisa vavengi vake kumativi ose.
4 Mheni yake inopenyesa pasi,
nyika inozviona igondengendeka.
(D) – Farai naTENZI imi makarurama.
5 Makomo anonyungudika senamo pamberi
paTENZI,
pamberi paTENZI wapasi pose. 6 Matenga anoparidza ururami hwake,
vanhu vose vanonzwa mbiri yake.
(D) – Farai naTENZI imi makarurama.
7 Vose vanonamata zvifananidzo, vanonyadziswa,
vanozvikudza nezvifananidzo zvokunamata
zvisina maturo,
vamwari vose vanomugwadamira.
(D) – Farai naTENZI imi makarurama.

Kupemberera Shoko Rakanaka: VaRoma 8,15

Areruya, Areruya. Makagamuchira Mweya
wokuti muve vana. Anotigonesa kudaidza tichiti,
“Abha! Baba!” Areruya.

Shoko Rakanaka: Mateu 6,7-15

Inzwai Shoko Rakanaka rakanyorwa naMateu
Jesu akataurira vadzidzi vake achiti: 7 Imi kana
mava kunamata, regai kuzavaza sezvinoita vechirudzi, nokuti vanofunga kuti vanonzwika nokuda
kokuwanda kwamazwi avo. 8 Musafanane navo,
nokuti Baba venyu vanoziva zvamunoda musati
mavakumbira. 9Nezvo namatai sezvizvi muchiti:
‘Baba vedu muri kudenga zita renyu ngariereswe.
10 Umambo hwenyu ngahuuye.
Kuda kwenyu ngakuitwe pasi sokudenga.
11 Tipeiwo nhasi kudya kwedu kwezuva nezuva 12 Tiregerereiwo zvitadzo zvedu,
sokuregerera kwatinoita vanotitadzira.
13 Musatirege tichipinda muchiedzo.
Asi tinunureiwo kune zvakaipa.
Nokuti umambo ndowenyu,
nesimba nembiri, narini narini. Ameni.’
14 “Kana mukaregerera vanhu zvikanganiso zvavo,
Baba venyu vokudenga vanokuregereraiwo zvikanganiso zvenyu. 15 Kana musingaregereri vanhu
zvikanganiso zvavo, Baba venyuwo havakuregererei
zvikanganiso zvenyu.
Shoko Rakanaka raTenzi.
GOSPEL REFLECTION: Forgiving Others
June 20, 2024

“If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.” (Matthew 6:14–15)

It’s truly amazing how often our Lord exhorts us to forgive. Much of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, from which we have been reading all week, continually calls us to offer mercy and forgiveness to others. And in the passage above from the end of today’s Gospel, Jesus offers us the consequences of not heeding His exhortations.

This passage is a sort of addendum to the “Our Father” prayer which immediately precedes it. The Our Father prayer gives us seven petitions, one of them being “forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.” It’s interesting to note that as soon as Jesus taught us this prayer with its seven petitions, He then re-emphasised one of those petitions by stating it again as is seen in the passage quoted above. This added emphasis should assure us of the seriousness of this petition.

At first, Jesus simply tells us to pray for forgiveness “as we forgive.” But He then makes it clear that if we fail to do so, we will not be forgiven ourselves. This should highly motivate us to make every effort possible to completely forgive others from the deepest depths of our hearts.

Who do you need to forgive? Forgiveness can be a confusing endeavor at times. The act of forgiveness gets confusing when our feelings do not reflect the choice we make in our will. It is a common experience that when we make the interior choice to forgive another, we still feel anger toward them. But these disordered feelings should not deter us nor should we allow them to cause doubt in what we need to do. Forgiveness is first an act of the will. It’s a prayerful choice to say to another that you do not hold their sin against them. Forgiveness does not pretend that no sin was committed. On the contrary, if there were no sin committed, then there would be no need for forgiveness. So the very act of forgiving is also an acknowledgment of the sin that needs to be forgiven.

When you make the choice to forgive another, and if your feelings do not immediately follow after, keep forgiving them in your heart. Pray for them. Try to change the way you think about them. Do not dwell upon the hurt that they have inflicted. Think, instead, about their dignity as a person, the love God has for them and the love you must continue to foster for them. Forgive, forgive and forgive again. Never stop and never tire of this act of mercy. If you do this, you may even discover that your feelings and passions eventually align with the choice you have made.

Reflect, today, upon any lingering feelings of anger you experience. Address those feelings by the free and total choice to forgive the person with whom you are angry. Do so now, later today, tomorrow and on and on. Go on the offensive against anger and bitterness by overwhelming it with your personal act of forgiveness and you will find that God will begin to free you of the heavy burden that a lack of forgiveness imposes.

PRAYER:
My forgiving Lord, You offer the perfection of forgiveness to me and call me to do the same toward others. I pray for Your forgiveness in my life. I am sorry for my sin and beg for Your mercy. In exchange for this holy gift, I pledge to You today to forgive everyone who has sinned against me. I especially forgive those with whom I remain angry. Free me from this anger, dear Lord, so that I may reap the full benefits of Your mercy in my life. Jesus, I trust in You.