Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 18, 21-35

Peter approached Jesus and asked him,
“Lord, if my brother sins against me,
how often must I forgive?
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 the fellow servant 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 your brother from your heart.”

Forgive because you have been forgiven

1. How many times must we forgive? If there is something hard for us to do it is to forgive. We often feel we are being fooled, but we must change this perspective because the process of forgiveness is for a change. When people ask for forgiveness it is because they are looking to lessen the burden in their soul and want to change for the better and not hold a grudge. Forgiveness is for the weak who fall and want to change, not for the wicked who only seek to justify themselves.  Jesus talks about being merciful always. Your duty as a Catholic is to always forgive others.

2. The king’s forgiveness. The king acts justly, and in the face of the servant’s plea and his ‘supposed’ change, he takes the option of forgiveness. This is similar to our relationship with God. How many times have you asked God for forgiveness of all the sins, big and small? You are the only one who knows the mistakes you have made; your faults that may never see the light of day. God puts them all on the cross and takes them all. Why? Because God loves us unconditionally.

3. The meanness of not forgiving. The gospel shows us that the servant who has been forgiven does not have the same attitude towards his brother. The amounts mentioned in the Gospel are absurd. The Gospel shows us a person who is not willing to forgive his brother for a few cents in comparison to his own debt.  Many times, we are like this too. We are forgiven by God over and over again, and we are not willing to forgive others. We block them out of our life or are not willing to talk to them. God is always prepared to give us an infinite number of opportunities to change, and He forgives us, and we are not willing to do the same for others. Be compassionate! Forgive with all your heart and not only with your words. This will free you of many burdens.  Have mercy as God has mercy on you too.

Remember that something good is on the way! 

God bless you, be with you and protect you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.