St. Clare, virgin 

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊ 

Deuteronomy 34:1-12

From the barren plain of Moab, 

Moses went up to Mount Nebo, to the summit of Pis­gah, opposite Jericho. And Yahweh showed him all the Land: from Gilead to Dan,  the whole of Naph­tali, the land of Ephraim, and of Manasseh, the whole land of Judah, as far as the Western Sea,   the Ne­geb, the Plains, the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar.

 And Yahweh said to him: “This is the land about which I swore to Abraham, Isaac and Ja­cob, promising it to their descendants. I have let you see it with your own eyes, but you shall not enter it.”  Moses, the servant of God, died there in the land of Moab, according to the will of Yahweh.   They buried him in the valley in the land of Moab opposite Beth-peor; but to this very day, no one knows where his tomb is.

 Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died. He did not lose his vigor and his eyes still saw clearly.  The children of Israel mourned for him in the plains of Moab for thirty days.   But Jos­hua, son of Nun, was full of the spirit of wisdom because Moses had laid his hands upon him. The children of Israel obeyed him and did as Yahweh had commanded Moses.

 No prophet like Moses has appeared again. Yahweh conversed with him face to face.  What signs and wonders he worked in Egypt against Pharaoh, against his people and all his land!   What a powerful hand was his that worked these terrible things in the sight of all Israel!

 

Ps 66:1-3a, 5 & 8, 16-17

Blessed be God who filled my soul with fire!

 

＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊

Matthew 18:15-20

 If your brother or sister has sinned against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are in private, and if he listens to you, you have won your brother.   If you are not listened to, take with you one or two others so that the case may be decided by the evidence of two or three witnesses.   If he still refuses to listen to them, tell it to the assembled Church. But if he does not listen to the Church, then regard such a one as a pagan or a publican.

 I say to you: whatever you bind on earth, heaven will keep bound; and whatever you unbind on earth, heaven will keep unbound.

 In like manner, I say to you: if on earth two of you are united in asking for anything, it will be granted to you by my heavenly Father.  For where two or three are gathered in my Name, I am there among them.”

    

Gospel Reflection：

 It is hard to do things if our hearts are not at peace. We are uneasy when we know that our relationship with others is suffering. That is why our gospel counsels that we settle it immediately so that the ill-feeling will not persist. The problem is, we sometimes do not know how to do it.

We lack the skills to handle conflict or to come up with a happy solution to it. Thus, we hesitate, unsure and insecure. So instead of being resolved, it may escalate into further misunderstanding. That is why the prudent course of action is to have a third party with you. The community member whom you both trust can mediate.

Sometimes, it takes a disinterested party to entangle the knots of disagreements between the two of you. It is better for you both to resolve the conflict immediately.. As the Bible says, “do not let the sun go down while you are still angry. (Eph.4:26)