Brothers and sisters, today we’re celebrating our monthly Mass for the Dead.
Praying for the Dead is something Catholic, it’s one of the Seven Spiritual Works of Mercy.
It’s not that difficult. As we Pray for the Dead, we recall the names and faces of all those we have loved, all those who have helped us get to where we are, and we ask God to have mercy and give them the blessings of everlasting life.
Let us first ask mercy and forgiveness for our sins. I confess, etc.
The Gospel 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.”
After the Gospel:
“If your brother listens to you, you have won him over.”
Jesus is talking about Reconciliation, the restoring of a broken relationship.
St Benedict also had to talk about reconciliation in his Rule for Monasteries, because, as we live together in community, things happen – feathers get ruffled, toes get stepped on, looks can kill, and there are hurts, both real hurts and perceived hurts. So fraternal relationships get strained, even broken, and need to be restored.
Like today’s Gospel, Benedict does allow for the community to “throw out’ someone who is un-willing to consider forgiveness, whose actions are un-becoming of a child of God, which God forbid.
But he also provides so many steps for forgiveness and reconciliation way before that is called for.
For instance, in the Chapter on Celebrating Lauds, realizing that thorns of contention are likely to spring up, Benedict commands the Superior, that Lauds and Vespers should never pass without the entire Lord’s Prayer be recited … up to the end … so that all the Brothers may hear themselves say: “Forgive us as we forgive” and cleanse themselves of this kind of vice. (RB 13:12-13)
Among the Tools of Good Works, he tells us to “pray for our enemies,” (RB 4:72) and to “bless those who curse us,” (RB 4:32) And, “if you have a dispute with someone, make peace with him before the sun goes down.” (RB 4:73)
Reconciliation is a bridge, a bridge that has to be built from both sides.
For peace in the community, Benedict wants to make sure that we’re not tearing down,
that we stand ready and willing to build that bridge.
In fact, that willingness, that seeking peace with an offended brother, is so important that it comes before any religious ritual we can do at the altar.