St Margaret of Scotland Roman Catholic Church

09/09/2026

Sunday Mass from St. Margaret of Scotland Catholic Church

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09/09/2026

-September 6, 2026-

St. Paul tells the Romans, “Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.”

Jesus, alive and glorified and present among us insists on unrestricted forgiveness of those who hurt us. Christ makes clear that forgiveness cannot be occasional but must remain constant. For the instant that we withhold forgiveness is the moment we ourselves forget that we have been forgiven in the blood of the Lamb. Forgiveness is first an act of the mind, a decision, but it must be lived out in the Heart.

Forgiveness keeps us focused on our own weakness, on our own offenses. The Divine Mercy, who is Jesus Christ present with us now, present in his Church, is the one who reaches out to us and strengthens us. Offering forgiveness from our hearts and not simply our heads is the concrete way we seek to follow the commandments of God and learn to grow in His way of holiness.

Forgiveness means nothing to a person whose soul and heart is hardened to the sinful nature of people in the world. They make forgiveness only a shallow word, null and void of compassion and mercy. The result is that they end up draining their own life of its joy, vitality and sense of thanksgiving for the very gift of life that our God freely gives them.

Those who truly understand the abomination of evil, the utter helplessness in our lives against Satan without Jesus, who is our God, we learn to gaze upon others with compassion and mercy. In truth, we become eager to forgive others as Jesus has forgiven us, he forgives all those who love him and who ask him.

When we can't forgive and won't forget, we become very small, completely self-absorbed. We dry up inside and never have peace of mind. It's only when we let go of what's consuming us, only when we forgive and wipe the slate clean, that peace can return and we can get on with our lives. By doing this we surrender ourselves to the living presence of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

It is difficult to be as generous and loving as God. Yet when we sin, we want God to forgive us. So, let us pray that we also have the courage and openness of heart to forgive when others sin against us.

St. Paul reminded the Romans, St. Paul reminds us,

“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no evil to the neighbor; hence, love is the fulfillment of the law. Love is brought to us in the peace of God, in the forgiveness of Jesus on the Cross.

09/08/2026

09/08/2026

Did you know?

Affirming the humanity of Jesus, the Church celebrates the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, his mother. While Scripture does not record the birth of Mary, the apocryphal Protoevangelium of James notes the development of Christian piety around Mary's parents and her birth.

09/08/2026

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