Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 18, 21-35.19, 1
Peter approached Jesus and asked him, “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?”
Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.
That is why the kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who decided to settle accounts with his servants.
When he began the accounting, a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount.
Since he had no way of paying it back, his master ordered him to be sold, along with his wife, his children, and all his property, in payment of the debt.
At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.’
Moved with compassion the master of that servant let him go and forgave him the loan.
When that servant had left, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a much smaller amount. He seized him and started to choke him, demanding, ‘Pay back what you owe.’
Falling to his knees, his fellow servant begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’
But he refused. Instead, he had him put in prison until he paid back the debt.
Now when his fellow servants saw what had happened, they were deeply disturbed, and went to their master and reported the whole affair.
His master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to.
Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?’
Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers until he should pay back the whole debt.
So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgives his brother from his heart.”
When Jesus finished these words, he left Galilee and went to the district of Judea across the Jordan.
To forgive from the heart
1) How many times? This is the question Peter asks. How long? Where is the limit? When do you consider yourself merciful and when do you consider yourself a fool? Jesus talks about being merciful always. Your duty as a Catholic is to always forgive others.
2) The situation. We see a man who has a debt and enters not only himself into the risk of slavery, but also his family. Let me make it clear, when you hurt someone else, not only are you at risk, but your family is also. Pay close attention if you have made a mistake and if your actions have caused others in your family to suffer the consequences. His debt is very great, but he is forgiven. Your debt with God is great too, but He will always forgive you. You are called upon to do the same with others. Do not hold a grudge because you feel that forgiving is relieving the person of pain. If you decide not to forgive them, you end up suffering more. Forgiveness heals.
3) Wicked. We see another debtor who owed much less than the first one. The one who lost his money is so exaggerated, that he sends the second debtor to jail for an absurdity. Be careful because you too can end up like him, a person with nothing in his heart. A wretched person has no memory and forgets the opportunities he once had. A miser has such a hard heart that he doesn’t care about hurting others. He is selfish and does not care for the well-being of others. To avoid being miserable, you must be compassionate. Truly forgive others from within your heart. Forgive with your heart and not only with your words. This will free you of many burdens.
God bless you and be with you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Don’t forget: Heaven is our goal!
