Tuesday, February 21 : Saint Augustine

Every man is God’s debtor and each has his brother in debt to him. Indeed, who could be without debt towards God if not him in whom is found no sin? And who could not have a debtor in his brother if not he whom no one has ever offended? Thus every man is both debtor and creditor… A beggar asks you for alms but you, too, are God’s beggar, for when we pray we are all beggars of God. We stand – or rather, prostrate ourselves – at our Father’s door (cf Lk 11,5f.); we beseech him with groans, anxious to receive a grace from him, and this grace is God himself. What does the beggar ask of you? Bread. And what is it that you are asking of God but Christ, who said: “I am the living bread come down from heaven” (Jn 6,51). Do you want to receive pardon? Then, show pardon. “Forgive and you will be forgiven.” Do you want to receive? “Give, and gifts will be given to you” (Lk 6,37-38)… Thus we ought to be ready to forgive all the wrongs done to us if we want God to forgive us too. Truly, if we consider our sins and think over the offences we have committed, I don’t know how we can sleep without feeling the burden of our debt weighing down upon us. And this is why we make our requests to God each day. Each day our prayers strike his ears; each day we prostrate ourselves, saying: “Forgive us our debts as we ourselves forgive those who are in debt to us.” Which of your debts would you like to have remitted? All of them or only some? You are going to reply: All. So do the same for your debtor.
maronite readings – rosary,team