Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
God our Father,
may we love You in all things and above all things
and reach the joy You have prepared for us
beyond all our imagining.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - Matthew 20:1-16
Jesus told his disciples this parable: "The Kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with them for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. Going out about nine o'clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and he said to them, 'You too go into my vineyard, and I will give you what is just.' So they went off. And he went out again around noon, and around three o'clock, and did likewise. Going out about five o'clock, he found others standing around, and said to them, 'Why do you stand here idle all day?' They answered, 'Because no one has hired us.' He said to them, 'You too go into my vineyard.' When it was evening the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, 'Summon the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and ending with the first.' When those who had started about five o'clock came, each received the usual daily wage. So when the first came, they thought that they would receive more, but each of them also got the usual wage. And on receiving it they grumbled against the landowner, saying, 'These last ones worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who bore the day's burden and the heat.' He said to one of them in reply, 'My friend, I am not cheating you. Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what is yours and go. What if I wish to give this last one the same as you? Or am I not free to do as I wish with my own money? Are you envious because I am generous?' Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last."
3) Reflection
• Today’s Gospel presents a parable which is found only in Matthew’s Gospel. It is not in the other Gospels. Like in all parables, Jesus tells a story about daily elements, daily things of the life of the people. He presents a picture of the social situation of His time, in which the listeners recognize themselves. At the same time, in the story of this parable, there are things which never take place in the reality of the life of the people, because speaking about the master, Jesus thinks about God, about His Father. This is why in the story of the parable the master does things which are surprising which never take place in the daily life of the listeners. In this strange approach of the master, it is necessary to find the key to understanding the message of the parable.
• Matthew 20:1-7: The five times that the landowner goes out to look for laborers. “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a landowner going out at daybreak to hire workers for his vineyard. He made an agreement with the workers for one denarius a day and sent them to his vineyard”. This is how the story begins and it speaks for itself and does not need too many comments. In what follows, the landowner goes out four times to call other workers to go and work in his vineyard. Jesus refers to the terrible lack of work at that time. Now some details of the story: (a) the landowner himself goes out personally five times to contract workers. (b) When he contracts the workers, he fixes the salary only for the first group: one denarius a day. To those of nine o’clock in the morning he says: I will give you what is just, fair. With the others, he does not fix anything. He contracted them only to work in the vineyard. (c) At the end of the day, when it was the time to pay the workers, the landowners orders the administrator to carry out this service.
• Matthew 20:8-10: The strange way of fixing the accounts at the end of the day. When it was evening, the landowner of the vineyard told his administrator: Call the workers and pay them, beginning from the last ones to the first ones. Here, at the time of drawing the accounts, something strange takes place which does not happen in normal life. It seems that things are inverted. The administrator begins to pay those who were contracted just an hour before. The salary is the same for all: one denarius, as it was agreed with the first ones who were contracted at the beginning of the day. When the first came, they expected to get more but they too received one denarius each. Why does the landowner act like that? Would you do the same? It is precisely in this surprising gesture of the landowner that the key to understanding this parable is hidden.
• Matthew 20:11-12: The normal reaction of the workers before the strange ways of the landowner. The last ones also receive their salary as those who were contracted first. The story says that these began to grumble against the landowner and said, “The men who came last have done only one hour and you have treated them the same as us, though we have done a heavy day’s work in all the heat”. This is the normal reaction of a good sense. I think that all of us would have had the same reaction and would have said the same thing to the landowner. Would we not?
• Matthew 20:13-16: The surprising explanation of the landowner which gives the key to the parable. The response of the landowner is the following: “My friend, I am not being unjust to you. Did we not agree on one denarius? Take your earnings and go. I choose to pay the last comer as much as I pay you; have I no right to do what I like with my own? Why should you be envious because I am generous?” These words give the key which explains the attitude of the landowner and indicates the message which Jesus wants to communicate to us: (a) The landowner was not unjust, because he acts according to what he had agreed with the first group of workers: one denarius a day. (b) It is the sovereign decision of the landowner to give to the last ones the same amount that he had agreed upon with those of the first hour. These do not have the right to complain and claim anything. (c) Acting with justice, the landowner has the right to do the good that he wants with the things that belong to him. The worker, on his part, has this same right. (d) The last question touches on the central point: Why should you be envious because I am generous? God is different and His thoughts are not our thoughts (Isa 55: 8-9).
• The background of the parable is the circumstance of the time, for Jesus as well as for Matthew. The workers of the first hour are the Jewish people, called by God to work in his vineyard. They bear the weight of the day, from Abraham to Moses, for over one thousand years. Now at the eleventh hour, Jesus calls the gentiles to work in his vineyard and they succeed in having the preference in the heart of God. “Thus the first ones will be last and the last will be first”.
4) Personal questions
• Those of the eleventh hour arrive. They have advantages and receive priority in regard to entrance into the Kingdom of God. When you wait in line for two hours, and a person arrives, and without saying anything she places herself before you. Would you accept this? Can these two situations be compared? (hint: she places herself, rather than someone higher choosing to place her - does this change things?)
• God’s action surpasses our calculations and our human way of acting. He surprises us and sometimes it is uncomfortable. Has this happened to you in your life? What lessons have you drawn from this?
• This parable uses "work" and "workers" to convey its message. Why? Is there also the message that to receive "payment" also requires work? To be a Christian demands work - it is not a passive existence, but rather an active participation in the work of God.
5) Concluding Prayer
Kindness and faithful love pursue me every day of my life.
I make my home in the house of Yahweh
for all time to come. (Ps 23:6)
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
God our Father,
may we love You in all things and above all things
and reach the joy You have prepared for us
beyond all our imagining.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - Matthew 19:23-30
Jesus said to his disciples: "Amen, I say to you, it will be hard for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of heaven. Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of God." When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and said, "Who then can be saved?" Jesus looked at them and said, "For men this is impossible, but for God all things are possible." Then Peter said to him in reply, "We have given up everything and followed you. What will there be for us?" Jesus said to them, "Amen, I say to you that you who have followed me, in the new age, when the Son of Man is seated on his throne of glory, will yourselves sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands for the sake of my name will receive a hundred times more, and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first."
3) Reflection
• The Gospel today is the immediate continuation of yesterday’s Gospel. It gives Jesus’ commentary regarding the rich young man’s negative reaction.
• Matthew 19:23-24: The camel and the eye of the needle. After the young man leaves, Jesus comments on his decision: “In truth I tell you, it is hard for someone rich to enter the kingdom of Heaven. Yes, I tell you again, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for someone rich to enter the kingdom of Heaven.” Two observations concerning this affirmation of Jesus: a) the proverb of the camel and of the eye of the needle was used to say that something was impossible and unthinkable, humanly speaking. b) The expression “that someone rich enters the kingdom of Heaven” is a question, in the first place, not of entrance into Heaven after death, but of entering into the community around Jesus. And even now this is true. It is very difficult for the rich to enter and to feel at home in the communities which try to live the Gospel according to Jesus’ standards and which try to be open to the poor, the migrants and to those excluded by society. However, this does not also mean that riches bring their own temptations which distance the person from God.
• Matthew 19:25-26: The disciples’ fear. The young man had observed the commandments, but without understanding the reason for the observance. Something similar was happening with the disciples. When Jesus called them, they did exactly the same thing which Jesus had asked the young man: they left everything and followed Jesus (Mt 4:20,22). But they were astonished at Jesus’ remark concerning the impossibility for someone rich to enter the Kingdom of God. This was a sign that they had not understood well the response which Jesus had given to the rich young man: “Go, sell all you possess, give it to the poor and then come and follow Me!” If they had understood, they would not have been so surprised by the requests of Jesus. When wealth or the desire for riches occupies one’s heart and one’s outlook on life, one does not understand the meaning of life and of the Gospel. God alone can help! “This is impossible for man, but for God all is possible!”
• Matthew 19:27: Peter’s question. The background of the disciples’ misunderstanding appears in the question asked by Peter: “Look, we have left everything and have followed You. What are we to have then?” In spite of the beautiful generosity of abandoning everything, they still have the old mentality. They have abandoned everything in order to get something in exchange. They still had not grasped the meaning of service and gratuitousness.
• Matthew 19:28-30: Jesus’ reply. "In truth I tell you, when everything is made new again and the Son of Man is seated on His throne of glory you yourselves will sit on twelve thrones to judge the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses, brothers, sisters, father, mother, children or land for the sake of My name will receive a hundred times as much and also inherit eternal life. Many, who are first, will be last, and the last, first.” In this response, Jesus describes the new world, the foundation of which had been laid by His work and that of the disciples. Jesus stresses three important points: (a) The disciples will sit on twelve thrones next to Jesus to judge the twelve tribes of Israel (cf. Rev 4:4). (b) In exchange they will receive many things which they had abandoned: houses, brothers, sisters, mother, children land and will inherit eternal life. (c) The future world will be the reverse of the present world. There, the last ones will be the first ones and the first ones will be the last ones. The community around Jesus is the seed and the manifestation of this new world. Even today the small community of the poor continues to be the seed and manifestation of the Kingdom.
• Every time that in the history of the people of the Bible a new movement arises to renew the Covenant, it begins by re-establishing the rights of the poor, of the excluded. Without that, the Covenant will not be reconstructed. This is the sense and the reason for the insertion of the community of Jesus into the midst of the poor. It draws from these roots and it inaugurates the New Covenant.
4) Personal questions
• To abandon houses, brothers, sisters, father, mother, children, fields, for the sake of Jesus: how does this take place in your life? What have you already received in exchange? What are you expecting?
• Today, the majority of poor countries are not of the Christian religion, while the majority of the rich countries are. How can the saying that it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle be applied today?
5) Concluding Prayer
Even were I to walk in a ravine as dark as death
I should fear no danger,
for You Lord, are at my side.
Your staff and Your crook are there to soothe me. (Ps 23:4)
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
God our Father,
may we love You in all things and above all things
and reach the joy You have prepared for us
beyond all our imagining.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - Matthew 19:16-22
A young man approached Jesus and said, "Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?" He answered him, "Why do you ask me about the good? There is only One who is good. If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments." He asked him, "Which ones?" And Jesus replied, "You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; honor your father and your mother; and you shall love your neighbor as yourself." The young man said to him, "All of these I have observed. What do I still lack?" Jesus said to him, "If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." When the young man heard this statement, he went away sad, for he had many possessions.
3) Reflection
• The Gospel today speaks to us about a young man who asks Jesus which is the way to eternal life. Jesus indicates to him the way of poverty. The young man does not accept Jesus’ proposal because he is very rich. A rich person is protected by the security of the riches which he possesses. He has difficulty opening the hand of his security. Attached to the advantages of his goods, he lives only to defend his own interests. A poor person does not have this concern. But there are some poor people who have the mentality of the rich. Often the desire for riches creates in the poor a great dependence and renders them slaves of consumerism, because they seek riches everywhere. They no longer have time to dedicate themselves to the service of neighbor.
• Matthew 19:16-19: The commandments and eternal life. A person approaches Jesus and asks Him, “Master, what good deed should I do to possess eternal life?” Some manuscripts say that it was a young man. Jesus responds abruptly, “Why do you ask Me about what is good? There is One alone who is good!” Then He responds to the question and says, “If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” The rich young man reacts and asks, “Which commandments?” Jesus very kindly enumerates the commandments which the young man already knew: “You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; honor father and mother; love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus’ response is very significant. The young man had asked what to do to obtain eternal life. He wanted to live close to God! But Jesus recalls only the commandments which refer to respect for the life close to others! He does not mention the first three commandments which deal with relationship with God. According to Jesus, we will be well with God only if we are well with our neighbor. It is not worth deceiving oneself. The door to reach God is our neighbor.
In Mark, the question of the young man is different: “Good Master what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus answers, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good, but God alone.” (Mk 10:17-18). Jesus turns the attention from Himself toward God, because what is important is to do God’s will, to reveal the project of the Father.
• Matthew 19:20: What is the use of observing the commandments? The young man responds, “I have always observed all these things. What more do I need to do?” What follows is strange. The young man wanted to know the way which leads to eternal life. Now, the way of eternal life was and continues to be this: to do God’s will, expressed in the commandments. In other words, the young man observed the commandments without knowing for what purpose. If he had known it, he would not have asked the question. It is like for many Catholics who do not know why they are Catholics. “I was born a Catholic, and this is why I am Catholic!” It is as if it was a custom!
• Matthew 19:21-22: Jesus’ proposal and the young man’s response. Jesus answers, “If you wish to be perfect, go and sell your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have a treasure in heaven; then come follow Me.” But on hearing these words the young man went away very sad because he was very rich. The observance of the commandments is only the first degree of a stairway that goes beyond, much farther and much higher. Jesus asks more! The observance of the commandments prepares people to be able to reach the point of giving oneself completely to the neighbor. Mark says that Jesus looked at the young man with love (Mk 10:21). Jesus asks for very much, but He asks for it with much love. The young man did not accept Jesus’ proposal and goes away “because he was very rich.”
• Jesus and the option for the poor. A two-fold slavery marked the situation of the people at the time of Jesus: the slavery of the politics of Herod, supported by the Roman Empire and maintained by a whole system which was well organized for exploitation and repression, and the slavery of the official religion, maintained by the religious authority of the time. For this reason the clan, the families, the community, were disintegrating and the majority of the people were excluded, marginalized, homeless, without either a religion or a society. So, for this reason, there were various movements which, like Jesus, tried to build up life in communities: Essenes, Pharisees and, later on, the Zealots. But in Jesus’ community, there was something new which made it different from the other groups: the attitude concerning the poor and the excluded. The communities of the Pharisees lived separated. The word “Pharisee” meant “separated.” This was the attitude concerning the poor and the excluded. The communities of the Pharisees lived separated from the impure people. Some Pharisees considered the people ignorant and damned (Jn 7:49) in sin (Jn 9:34). They could learn nothing from the people (Jn 9:34). On the contrary, Jesus and His community lived in the midst of people who were excluded, considered impure; tax collectors, sinners, prostitutes, lepers (Mk 2:16; 1:41; Lk 7:37). Jesus recognizes the richness and the values which the poor possess (Mt 11: 25-26; Lk 21:1-4). He proclaims them blessed, because the Kingdom is theirs, of the poor (Lk 6:20; Mt 5:3). He defines His mission in this way: “To announce the good news to the poor” (Lk 4:18). He Himself lives poorly. He possesses nothing for Himself, not even a stone to lay His head on (Lk 9:58). And to anyone who wants to follow Him, who wants to live like Him, He orders that that person choose either God or money! (Mt 6:24). He orders His followers to choose the poor, as He proposed it to the rich young man! (Mk 10:21). This different way of accepting the poor and of living with them is a sign of the Kingdom of God.
4) Personal questions
• Can a person who lives concerned about his wealth or with acquiring the goods which the propaganda of consumerism offers free himself from all this in order to follow Jesus and live in peace in a Christian community? Is this possible? What do you think?
• What does this mean for us today: “Go, sell all you possess and give it to the poor?” Is it possible to do this concretely? Do you know anybody who has actually done this for the Kingdom?
• Let us say you own a kitchen with pots and pans and stove, and its cost was not small. You use this kitchen to feed your family, or the poor, or some in the community. If you didn’t have this kitchen, you couldn’t do this. How does Jesus’ advice to the young man apply to you to sell your pots, pans and kitchen? Which is the greater good?
• Continuing the kitchen question, if you also purchased the food and gave it away, this is obviously a certain good. What if you only used the kitchen to provide “cooking” for people who brought their own food (offering your time and resource)? Or if you sold your cooked food “at cost”? Or if you charged only enough for a small salary for your “service” to the community? What if you made a profit while doing this? At what point(s) does the picture change? Why?
5) Concluding Prayer
Yahweh is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
In grassy meadows He lets me lie down.
By tranquil streams He leads me to restore my spirit.
He guides me in paths of saving justice
as befits His name. (Ps 23:1-3)
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
Almighty and ever-living God,
Your Spirit made us Your children,
confident to call You Father.
Increase Your Spirit within us
and bring us to our promised inheritance.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading
Children were brought to Jesus that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked them, but Jesus said, "Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them; for the Kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." After he placed his hands on them, he went away.
3) Reflection
• The Gospel today is very brief: only three verses. The Gospel describes how Jesus accepts the children.
• Matthew 19:13: The attitude of the disciples concerning the children. People brought little children to Jesus, for Him to lay His hands on them and pray. The disciples scolded the mothers. Why? Children were, as they were not long ago, kept to themselves. “Seen and not heard” as the saying goes. As has been said before, they were the insignificant of society. This was different than the laws of purity where it was important to avoid their getting close to Him and touching Him. It already had happened one time, when a leper touched Jesus. Jesus became unclean, impure and could no longer enter the city. He had to remain in deserted places (Mk 1:4-45).
• Matthew 19:14-15: Jesus’ attitude: He accepts and defends the life of the children. Jesus reproved the disciples and said, “Let the little children alone, and do not stop them from coming to Me, for it is to such as these that the Kingdom of Heaven belongs.” Jesus does not care about transgressing the norms which prevent fraternity and acceptance to be given to the little ones. The new experience of God the Father has marked the life of Jesus and gives Him new eyes to perceive and to value the relationships among people. Jesus gets on the side of the little ones, of the excluded, and takes on their defense. It is impressive when we see everything which the Bible says regarding the attitudes of Jesus in defense of the life of the children, of the little ones:
a) To give thanks for the Kingdom present in the little ones. Jesus’ joy is great when He sees that the children, the little ones, understand the things of the Kingdom which He announced to the people. “Father, I thank You!” (Mt 11:25-26) Jesus recognizes that the little ones understand more about the things of the Kingdom than the doctors!
b) To defend the right to shout or cry out. When Jesus entered the Temple, He upset the tables of the money changers, and the children were those who shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” (Mt 21:15). Criticized by the high priests and the Scribes, Jesus defends them and in His defense He recalls the Scriptures (Mt 21:16).
c) To identify with the little ones. Jesus embraces the little ones and identifies Himself with them. Anyone who accepts a little one accepts Jesus (Mk 9:37). “Insofar as you have done it to one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did it to Me”. (Mt 25:40).
d) To accept and not to scandalize. One of the hardest words of Jesus is against those who are a cause of scandal for the little ones, that is, who are the reason why the little ones no longer believe in God. Because of this, it would have been better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone around their neck (Lk 17:1-2; Mt 18:5-7). Jesus condemns the system, both the political one as well as the religious one, which causes the little ones, the humble people, to lose faith in God.
e) To become like children. Jesus asks His disciples to become like children and to accept the Kingdom as children do. Without this, it is impossible to enter the Kingdom (Lk 9:46-48). It indicates that the children are teachers of the adults. That was not normal. We are accustomed to the contrary.
f) To accept and to touch. (Today’s Gospel). The mothers with their children who get close to Jesus to ask Him to bless the children. The Apostles react and drive them away. Jesus corrects the adults and accepts the mothers with the children. He touches the children and embraces them. “Let the little children come to Me, and do not stop them!” (Mk 10:13-16; Mt 19:13-15).
g) To accept and to take care. Many are the children and the young people whom He accepts, takes care of and raises from the dead: the twelve year-old daughter of Jairus, (Mk 5:41-42), the daughter of the Canaanite woman (Mk 7:29-30), the son of the widow of Nain (Lk 7:14-15), the epileptic child (Mk 9:25-26), the son of the Centurion (Lk 7:9-10), the son of the public officer (Jn 4:50), the boy with five loaves of bread and two fishes (Jn 6:9).
4) Personal questions
• Children: what have you learned from children throughout the years of your life? And what do children learn about God, about Jesus and His life, from you?
• Which image of Jesus do I give to children? A severe God, a good God, a distant or absent God?
5) Concluding Prayer
Lord, give me back the joy of Your salvation,
sustain in me a generous spirit.
I shall teach the wicked Your paths,
and sinners will return to You. (Ps 51:12-13)
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
Almighty and ever-living God,
Your Spirit made us Your children,
confident to call You Father.
Increase Your Spirit within us
and bring us to our promised inheritance.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - Matthew 19:3-12
Some Pharisees approached Jesus, and tested him, saying, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause whatever?" He said in reply, "Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator made them male and female and said, For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, man must not separate." They said to him, "Then why did Moses command that the man give the woman a bill of divorce and dismiss her?" He said to them, "Because of the hardness of your hearts Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. I say to you, whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful) and marries another commits adultery." His disciples said to him, "If that is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry." He answered, "Not all can accept this word, but only those to whom that is granted. Some are incapable of marriage because they were born so; some, because they were made so by others; some, because they have renounced marriage for the sake of the Kingdom of heaven. Whoever can accept this ought to accept it."
3) Reflection
Context. Up to chapter 18 Matthew has shown how the discourses of Jesus have marked the different phases of the progressive constitution and formation of the community of disciples around their Master. Now in chapter 19, this small group withdraws from the territory of Galilee and arrives in the territories of Judea. The call of Jesus that involves His disciples advances more until the decisive choice: the acceptance or rejection of the person of Jesus. Such a phase takes place along the road that leads to Jerusalem (chapters 19-20), and finally with the arrival in the city and at the Temple (chapters 21-23). All of the encounters that Jesus experiences in the course of these chapters take place during this journey from Galilee to Jerusalem.
• The encounter with the Pharisees. Passing through Transjordan (19:1) the first encounter is with the Pharisees and the theme of Jesus’ discussion with them becomes a reason for reflection for the group of the disciples. The question of the Pharisees concerns divorce and challenges Jesus. The Pharisees want to accuse Jesus because of His teaching. Matthew considers it “testing Him,” “a way of tempting Him.” The question is really a crucial one: “Is it against the Law for a man to divorce his wife on any pretext whatsoever?” (19:3). The malicious attempt of the Pharisees to interpret the text of Deut 24:1 to place Jesus in difficulty does not escape the attention of the reader: “Suppose a man has taken a wife and consummated the marriage, but she has not pleased him and he has found some impropriety of which to accuse her, he has, therefore, made out a writ of divorce for her and handed it to her and then dismissed her from his house.” This text had given cause, throughout the centuries, for innumerable discussions: to admit divorce for any reason whatsoever; to request a minimum of bad behavior, is a true adultery.
• It is God who unites. Jesus responds to the Pharisees having recourse to Gen 2:24, which presents the question about the primary will of God, the Creator. The love that unites man to woman, comes from God and because of its origin, it unifies and cannot be separated. If Jesus quotes Gn 2:24: “This is why a man leaves his father and mother and becomes attached to his wife and they become one flesh” (19:5), it is because he wants to underline a particular and absolute principle: it is the creating will of God that unites man and woman. When a man and a woman unite together in marriage, it is God who unites them; the term “coniugi” - couple – comes from the verb joined together, to unite, that is to say, that the joining together of the two partners sexually is the effect of the creative word of God. Jesus’ response to the Pharisees reaches its summit: marriage is indissoluble from its original constitution. Jesus continues this time drawing from Mal 2:13-16: to repudiate the wife is to break the covenant with God and according to the prophets this covenant has to be lived, above all, by the spouses in their conjugal union (Hos 1-3; Isa 1: 21-26; Jer 2:2; 3:1,6-12; Ezek 16; 23; Isa 54:6-10; 60-62). Jesus’ response appears as a contradiction to the Law of Moses which grants the possibility of granting a writ of divorce. To justify His response Jesus reminds the Pharisees, “If Moses gave this possibility it is because you were so hardhearted” (v. 8), more concrete, because of your lack of acceptance to the Word of God. The Law of Gen 1:26; 2:24 had never been modified, but Moses was obliged to adapt it to an attitude of indocility. The first marriage was not annulled by adultery. To contemporary man, and particularly to the ecclesial community, the word of Jesus clearly says that there should be no divorces. Nevertheless, we see that there are; in pastoral life divorced people are accepted. The possibility of entering into the Kingdom is always open to them. The reaction of the disciples is immediate: “If that is how things are between husband and wife, it is advisable not to marry” (v. 10). Jesus’ response continues to uphold the indissolubility of matrimony, impossible for the human mentality but possible for God. The eunuch of whom Jesus speaks is also not the one who is unable to generate but the one who, separated from his wife, continues to live in continence. He remains faithful to the first conjugal bond: he is a eunuch as regards all other women.
4) Personal questions
• With regard to marriage, do we know how to accept the teaching of Jesus with simplicity, without adapting it to our own choice to be comfortable?
• The evangelical passage has reminded us that the design of the Father for man and for woman is a wonderful project of love. Are you aware that love has an essential law: it implies the total and full gift of one’s own person to the other?
5) Concluding Prayer
God, create in me a clean heart,
renew within me a resolute spirit,
do not thrust me away from Your presence,
do not take away from me Your spirit of holiness. (Ps 51:10-11)
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
Almighty and ever-living God,
Your Spirit made us Your children,
confident to call You Father.
Increase Your Spirit within us
and bring us to our promised inheritance.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - Matthew 18:21-19:1
Peter approached Jesus and asked him, "Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?" Jesus answered, "I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times. That is why the Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who decided to settle accounts with his servants. When he began the accounting, a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount. Since he had no way of paying it back, his master ordered him to be sold, along with his wife, his children, and all his property, in payment of the debt. At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.' Moved with compassion the master of that servant let him go and forgave him the loan. When that servant had left, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a much smaller amount. He seized him and started to choke him, demanding, 'Pay back what you owe.' Falling to his knees, his fellow servant begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.' But he refused. Instead, he had the fellow servant put in prison until he paid back the debt. Now when his fellow servants saw what had happened, they were deeply disturbed, and went to their master and reported the whole affair. His master summoned him and said to him, '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?' Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers until he should pay back the whole debt. So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgives his brother from his heart." When Jesus finished these words, he left Galilee and went to the district of Judea across the Jordan.
3) Reflection
• In yesterday’s Gospel we have heard the words of Jesus concerning fraternal correction (Mt 18:15-20). In the Gospel today (Mt 19:21-39) the central theme is pardon and reconciliation.
• Matthew 18:21-22: Forgive seventy times seven! Before the words of Jesus on fraternal correction and reconciliation, Peter asks, “How often must I forgive? Seven times?” Seven is a number which indicates perfection and, in the case of Peter’s proposal, seven is synonymous with always. But Jesus goes beyond. He eliminates whatever possible limitation there may be to pardon: “Not seven, I tell you, but seventy-seven times”. It is as if He would say “Always, Peter! Even seventy seven times! Always!” This is because there is no proportion between God’s love for us and our love for our brother. Here we recall the episode of the Old Testament of Lamech: “Lamech says to his wives, Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; listen to what I say: I killed a man for wounding me, a boy for striking me. Sevenfold vengeance for Cain, but seventy-sevenfold for Lamech” (Gen 4:23-24). The task of the communities is to reverse the process of the spiral of violence. In order to clarify His response to Peter, Jesus tells them the parable of pardon without limits.
• Matthew 18:23-27: The attitude of the master. This parable is an allegory, that is, Jesus speaks about a master, but thinks of God. This explains the enormous contrasts in the parable. As we will see, although it is a question of daily ordinary things, there is something in this story which does not take place in daily life. In the story which Jesus tells, the master follows the norms of the law or rights of that time. It was his right to take a laborer with all his family and to keep him in prison until he had paid his debt carrying out his work as a slave. But in response to the request of the debtor servant, the master forgives the debt. What strikes us is the amount: ten thousand talents! One talent was equal to 35 kg, and so according to the estimate made, ten thousand talents were equal to 350 tons of gold. Even if the debtor and his family had worked their whole life, they would never have been able to earn 350 tons of gold. The extreme estimate is made on purpose. Our debt before God is countless and unpayable!
• Matthew 18:28-31: The attitude of the laborer. As soon as he went out, that servant found a fellow servant who owed him one hundred denarii, and he seized him by the throat and began to throttle him, saying, “ Pay what you owe!” This servant owed him one hundred denarii; that is the salary of one hundred days of work. Some have estimated that it was a question of 30 grams of gold. There was no comparison between the two! But this makes us understand the attitude of the laborer: God forgives him 350 tons of gold and he is not able to forgive 30 grams of gold. Instead of forgiving, he does to the companion what the master could have done to him, but did not do it. He puts his companion in prison according to the norms of the law until he has paid his debt. This is an inhuman attitude, which also strikes the other companions. Seeing what had happened, the other servants were sad and went to report to their master everything which had happened. We also would have done the same; we would also have had the same attitude of disapproval.
• Matthew 18:32-35: The attitude of God “Then the master called that man and said to him: “You wicked servant! I have forgiven you all your debt because you appealed to me. Were you not bound then to have pity on your fellow-servant just as I had pity on you? And, angry, the master handed him over to the torturers till he should pay all his debt.” Before God’s love who pardons gratuitously our debt of 350 tons of gold, it is more than fair that we should forgive our brother who has a small debt of 30 grams of gold. God’s forgiveness is without limit. The only limit for the gratuity of God’s mercy comes from us, from our incapacity to forgive our brothers! (Mt 18:34). This is what we say and ask for in the Our Father: “Forgive us our offenses as we forgive those who offend us” (Mt 6:12-15).
The community: an alternative place of solidarity and fraternity. The society of the Roman Empire was hard and heartless, without any space for the little ones. They sought some refuge for the heart and did not find it. The synagogues were very demanding and did not offer a place for them. In the Christian communities, the rigor of some concerning the observance of the Law in daily life followed the same criteria as society and as the synagogue. Thus, in the communities, the same divisions which existed in society and in the synagogue, between rich and poor, dominion and submission, man and woman, race and religion, began to appear. The community, instead of being a place of acceptance, became a place of condemnation. By uniting the words of Jesus, Matthew wants to enlighten the followers of Jesus, in order that the communities may be an alternative place of solidarity and of fraternity. They should be Good News for the poor.
4) Personal questions
• To forgive. There are people who say, “I forgive, but I do not forget!” And I? Am I able to imitate God?
• Jesus gives us the example. At the time of death He asks pardon for His murderers (Lk 13:34). Am I capable of imitating Jesus?
• The laborer acted out of fear in the moment rather than generosity and forgiveness. How often, perhaps in “office politics”, do we do the same thing? What is the better way?
5) Concluding Prayer
From the rising of the sun to its setting,
praised be the name of Yahweh!
Supreme over all nations is Yahweh,
supreme over the heavens His glory. (Ps 113:3-4)
Durante il Capitolo Generale, incontro internazionale che si svolge ogni sei anni, un frate è eletto Vice Priore Generale dell’Ordine. Suo compito è lavorare in stretta relazione con il Priore Generale, assistendolo nel suo ufficio e rappresentandolo come Vicario in sua assenza. Il Vice Priore Generale, inoltre, coordina il lavoro del Consiglio Generale e organizza l’amministrazione della Curia.
Nell’ultimo Capitolo Generale è stato eletto Vice Priore Generale Padre Franciscus Xavarius Hariawan Adji per un mandato di sei anni, dal 2025 al 2031.
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Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
Almighty and ever-living God,
Your Spirit made us Your children,
confident to call You Father.
Increase Your Spirit within us
and bring us to our promised inheritance.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - Matthew 18:15-20
Jesus said to his disciples: "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. If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, so that every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell the Church. If he refuses to listen even to the Church, then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector. Amen, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again, amen, I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."
3) Reflection
• In the Gospel of today and of tomorrow we read and meditate on the second half of the Discourse on the Community. Today’s Gospel speaks about fraternal correction (Mt 18:15-18) and of prayer in common (Mt 18:19-20). The Gospel of tomorrow speaks about pardon (Mt 18:21-22) and presents the parable of pardon without limitations (Mt 18:23-35). The key word in this second part is “to forgive”. The accent is on reconciliation. In order that there may be reconciliation which will allow the little ones to return, it is important to know how to dialogue and to forgive, because the foundation of fraternity is the gratuitous love of God. It is only in this way that the community will be a sign of the Kingdom. It is not easy to forgive. There is a certain grief which continues to strike the heart as with a hammer. There are those who say, “I forgive, but I do not forget!” There is resentment, tensions, clashes, diverse opinions, and offenses, provocations which render pardon and reconciliation difficult.
• The organization of the words of Jesus in the five Great Discourses of the Gospel of Matthew indicates that at the end of the first century, the communities had very concrete forms of catechesis. The Discourse of the Community (Mt 18:1-35), for example, gives updated instructions of how to proceed in case of any conflict among the members of the community and how to find criteria to solve the conflicts. Matthew gathers together those sayings of Jesus which can help the communities of the end of the first century to overcome the two more acute problems which they had to face at that moment, that is, the exodus of the little ones because of the scandal given by some and the need to dialogue in order to overcome the rigor of others in accepting the little ones, the poor, in the community.
• Matthew 18:15-18: Fraternal correction and the power to forgive. These verses give simple norms of how to proceed in case of conflicts in the community. If a brother or a sister should sin, if they had behavior not in accordance to the life of the community, they should not be denounced immediately. First, it is necessary to try to speak with them alone. Then it is necessary to try to know the reasons of the other. If no results are obtained, then it is necessary to take two or three persons of the community to see if it is possible to obtain some result. Only in extreme cases is it necessary to expose the problem to the whole community. If the person refuses to listen to the community, then they should be considered by you as “a sinner or a pagan”, that is, as someone who is not part of the community. Therefore, it is not you who excludes, but it is the person himself/herself who excludes himself/herself. The community gathered together only verifies or ratifies the exclusion. The grace to be able to forgive and to reconcile in the name of God was given to Peter (Mt 16:19), to the Apostles ( Jn 20: 23) and, here in the Discourse on the Community, to the community itself (Mt 18:18). This reveals the importance of the decisions which the community assumes in regard to its members.
• Matthew 18:19: Prayer in common. The exclusion does not mean that the person is abandoned to his/her own fate. No! The person may be separated from the community, but will never be separated from God. In the case in which the conversation in the community does not produce any result, and the person does not want to be integrated in the life of the community, there still remains the last possibility to remain together with the Father to obtain reconciliation, and Jesus guarantees that the Father will listen: “If two of you agree to ask anything at all, it will be granted to you by My Father in Heaven; for where two or three meet in My Name, I am there among them”.
• Matthew 18:20: The presence of Jesus in the community. The reason of the certainty of being heard by the Father is the promise of Jesus: “Because where there are two or three who meet in My name, I am there among them!” Jesus is the center, the axis, of the community, and, as such, together with the community, will always be praying with us to the Father, in order that He may grant the gift of the return of the brother or the sister who have excluded themselves.
4) Personal questions
• Why is it so difficult to forgive? In our community, is there some space for reconciliation? In which way?
• Jesus says: "For wherever there are two or three who meet in My Name, I am also there among them”. What does this mean for us today?
• What is the balance between forgiveness and the protection of others which we have responsibility for? Both as individuals and as a society or community, what does it mean to forgive, forget, and still protect the vulnerable?
5) Concluding Prayer
Praise, servants of Yahweh,
praise the name of Yahweh.
Blessed be the name of Yahweh,
henceforth and for ever. (Ps 113:1-2)
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
Almighty and ever-living God,
Your Spirit made us Your children,
confident to call You Father.
Increase Your Spirit within us
and bring us to our promised inheritance.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - Matthew 18:1-5, 10, 12-14
The disciples approached Jesus and said, “Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?” He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said, “Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me. “See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father. What is your opinion? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills and go in search of the stray? And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not stray. In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost.”
3) Reflection
• Here, in Chapter 18 of the Gospel of Matthew begins the fourth great discourse on the New Law, the discourse on the community. As has already been said before (on Monday of the 10th week of the year), the Gospel of Matthew, written for the communities of the Christian Jews of Galilee and Syria, presents Jesus as the new Moses. In the Old Testament, the Law of Moses was codified in the five books of the Pentateuch. Imitating the ancient model, Matthew represents the New Law in five great discourses: (a) The Sermon on the Mount (Mt 5:1-7, 29); (b) the discourse on the mission (Mt 10:1-42); (c) The discourse on the parables (Mt 13:1-52); (d) The discourse on the community (Mt 18:1-35); (e) The discourse on the future of the Kingdom (Mt 24:1-25,46). The narrative parts which are inserted among the five discourses describe the practice of Jesus and show how He practiced and embodied the New Law in His life.
• The Gospel today gives the first part of the discourse on the community (Mt 18:1-14) which has as key word “the little ones”. The little ones are not only the children, but also the poor, those who are not important in society and in the community, and also the children. Jesus asks that these “little ones” should always be the center of the concern of the communities because “The Father in Heaven does not will that one of these little ones should be lost” (Mt 18:14).
• Matthew 18:1: The question of the disciples which provokes the teaching of Jesus. The disciples want to know who is greater in the Kingdom. The simple fact of this question reveals that they have not understood anything or very little of the message of Jesus. The whole discourse on the community is given in order to make them understand that among the followers of Jesus the spirit of service should prevail, the gift of self, of pardon, of reconciliation and of gratuitous love, without seeking one’s own interest and one’s own advancement.
• Matthew 18:2-5: The fundamental criterion: the little one and the greater one. The disciples ask for a criteria so as to be able to measure the importance of the people in the community: “Who is the greater in the Kingdom of Heaven?” Jesus answers that it is the little ones! The little ones are not socially important; they do not belong to the world of the powerful. The disciples have to become children. Instead of growing up, to the heights, they must grow down and toward the periphery, where the poor and the little ones live. In this way, they will be greater in the Kingdom! The reason is the following: “Anyone who receives one of these little ones receives Me”. Jesus identifies Himself with them. The love of Jesus for the little ones cannot be explained. Children have no merit. It is the complete gratuity of the love of God which manifests itself and asks to be imitated in the community of those who call themselves disciples of Jesus.
• Matthew 18:6-9: Do not scandalize the little ones. These four verses concerning the scandal to little ones are omitted from today’s Gospel. We give a brief commentary on them. To scandalize the little ones means this: to be the cause for them to lose their faith in God and to abandon the community. Matthew keeps a very hard saying of Jesus: “Anyone who scandalizes even one of these little ones who believe in Me, it would be better for him to have a mill stone tied around his neck and then be thrown into the sea”. It is a sign that at that time many little ones no longer identified themselves with the community and sought another refuge. And today, in Latin America, for example, every year approximately three million people abandon the historical Church and go to the Evangelical churches. This is a sign that they do not feel at home among us. What is lacking in us? What is the cause of this scandal to the little ones? In order to avoid the scandal, Jesus orders them to cut off their foot or take out their eye. This sentence cannot be taken literally. It means that we should be very firm, strict in fighting against any scandal which draws the little ones away. We cannot, in any way, allow that the little ones feel marginalized in our community, because in this case, the community would not be a sign of the Kingdom of God.
• Matthew 18:10-11: The angels of the little ones see the face of the Father. Jesus recalls Psalm 91. The little ones take Yahweh as their refuge and make the most High their fortress (Ps 91:9) and because of this, “No disaster can overtake you, no plague come near your tent; He has given angels orders about you to guard you wherever you go. They will carry you in their arms in case you trip over a stone” (Ps 91:10,12).
• Matthew 18:12-14: The parable of the one hundred sheep. According to Luke, this parable reveals the joy of God on the conversion of a sinner (Lk 15: 3-7). According to Matthew, it reveals that the Father does not want even one of the little ones to be lost. In other words, the little ones should be the pastoral priority of the community, of the Church. They should be in the center of the concern of all. Love for the little ones and the excluded should be the axis of the community of those who want to follow Jesus, because it is in this way that the community becomes the proof of the gratuitous love of God, who accepts all.
4) Personal questions
• Who are the poorest people of our neighborhood? Do they participate in our community? Do they feel at home or do they find in us a cause to withdraw?
• God the Father does not want any of the little ones to get lost. What does this mean for our community?
• Should the pastor of a community spend his time on the “little ones” in the community, the poor and neglected, or on the rich who might be able to provide for the economics of the community? Is there a balance, or is “balance” just another word for compromise – a compromise on Jesus’ instructions? Does your answer also apply to members of the community as well?
• Many who leave the Church do so because of disagreement over teachings, such as the Church’s stand on abortion or remarriage. Some believe that there is no such thing as sin. How could, or should, the community bring these “lost sheep” back, without sacrificing the truth?
5) Concluding Prayer
Your instructions are my eternal heritage,
they are the joy of my heart.
I devote myself to obeying Your statutes,
their recompense is eternal. (Ps 119:111-112)
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
Almighty and ever-living God,
your Spirit made us Your children,
confident to call You Father.
Increase your Spirit within us
and bring us to our promised inheritance.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - John 12:24-26
Jesus said to his disciples: "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be. The Father will honor whoever serves me."
3) Reflection
• This passage contains solemn and crucial words concerning the method by which the mission of Jesus and His disciples “produces much fruit.” This solemn and central declaration of Jesus; “unless a wheat grain falls into the ground and dies, it remains only a single grain; but if it dies, it yields a large harvest” (v. 24), is inserted in the narrative of 12:12-36 where the encounter of Jesus as Messiah with Israel and the rejection by the Jews of His messianic proposal is told. What are the principal themes that describe the messianism of Jesus? The Jews expected a messiah who would be a powerful king, who would continue with the royal style of David and would restore to Israel its glorious past. Instead, Jesus, places in the center of His messianism the gift of His life and the possibility given to humanity of accepting God’s plan for His life.
• The story of a seed. The gift of His life, as a crucial characteristic of His messianism. Jesus outlines it with a mini parable. He describes a central and decisive event of His life drawing from the agricultural environment, where He takes the images to render His parables interesting and immediate. It is the story of a seed: a small parable to communicate with the people in a simple and transparent way: a seed begins its course or journey in the dark matter of the earth, where it is suffocated and withers but in the spring it becomes a green stalk and in the summer a spike charged with grain. The focal points of the parable are both the production of much fruit and the finding of eternal life. The seed that breaks through the darkness of earth has been interpreted by the early Fathers of the Church as a symbolical reference to the Incarnation of the Son of God. In the ground it seems that the vital force of the seed is destined to get lost because the seed withers and dies. But then the surprise of nature: in the summer when the spikes turn golden, the profound secret of that death is revealed. Jesus knows that death is becoming imminent, threatens His person, even though he does not see it as a beast that devours. It is true that it has the characteristics of darkness and of being ripped, but for Jesus it contains the secret force typical of child birth, a mystery of fecundity and of life. In the light of this vision one can understand another expression used by Jesus: “Anyone who loves his life will lose it and anyone who hates his own life in this world will preserve it for eternal life.” Anyone who considers his own life as a cold property to be lived in egoism is like a seed enclosed in itself and without any hope for life. On the contrary, if one who “hates his life,” a very sharp semitic expression, it is only then that life becomes creative: it is a source of peace, of happiness and of life. It is the reality of the seed that sprouts. But the reader can also see in the mini parable of Jesus another dimension: that of the “Passover.” Jesus knows that in order to lead humanity to the threshold of divine love He has to go through the dark way of death on the cross. On the trail of this life the disciple also faces his own “hour”, that of death, with the certainty that it will lead to eternal life, that is to say, to full communion with God.
• In synthesis. The story of the seed is that of dying in order to multiply itself; its function is that of service to life. The annihilation of Jesus is comparable to the seed of life buried in the earth. In Jesus’ life, to love is to serve and to serve is to lose oneself in the life of others, to die to oneself in order to allow others to live. While His “hour” is approaching, the conclusion of His mission, Jesus assures His own with the promise of a consolation and of a joy without end, accompanied by every type of disturbance or trouble. He gives the example of the seed that has to wither and of the woman who has to endure the pangs of childbirth. Christ has chosen the cross for Himself and for His own: anyone who wants to be His disciple is called to share the same path. He always spoke to His disciples in a radical way: “Anyone who wants to save his life will lose it; but anyone who loses his life for My sake, will save it” (Lk 9: 24).
4) Personal questions
• Does your life express the gift of yourself? Is it a seed of love that makes love be born? Are you aware that in order to be a seed of joy, so that there will be joy in the wheat grain, the moment of sowing is necessary?
• Can you say that you have chosen the Lord if later you do not embrace the cross with Him? When the hard struggle breaks out in you between “yes” or “no,” between courage and fear, between faith and unbelief, between love and egotism, do you feel lost, thinking that such temptations are not suitable for those who follow Jesus?
5) Concluding Prayer
All goes well for one who lends generously,
who is honest in all his dealing;
for all time to come he will not stumble,
for all time to come the upright will be remembered. (Ps 112:5-6)
