St. William Church, Philadelphia issued the following announcement on September 13.

24th Sunday in Ordinary Time

September 13, 2020

FOCUS: Forgiveness is a choice that leads to life.

Life always offers us choices—will we hold onto

anger or choose to forgive? Will we live with a spirit of compassion or

withhold mercy? Will we hold onto hurts and grievances or extend a

hand in peace? Living out the commands of God is no easy task, but if

we show mercy and forgiveness to others, we are assured of the same

from our heavenly Father.

LITURGY OF THE WORD: Sirach tells the people, Wrath and anger

are hateful things, yet the sinner hugs them tight. Thus, they are to forgive

their neighbor as they wish to be forgiven by the Lord. Paul tells the

Romans, None of us lives for oneself, and no one dies for oneself. For if we live,

we live for the Lord. In the Gospel, Jesus answers Peter’s question of how

often he must forgive by telling him the parable of the unforgiving servant.

REFLECTION: Reflecting on the gift of forgiveness God has given us,

might enable us to forgive the debts we hold against others. Being

changed by the forgiveness God always makes available to us, can enable us to forgive, the way God does, free of charge.

So we ask ourselves:

• What experience have I had of getting something for free that I

needed, didn’t earn, or deserve?

• Was I changed and deeply affected by that experience?

• Was I moved in a similar way to be as generous to another?

Original source can be found here.