MEANING OF FORGIVENESS - 09/17/23 (Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time)

From the Gospel according to Matthew

Mt 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."

WORDS OF THE HOLY FATHER: 

Forgiveness is not an easy thing for us to do. But it can be done by the grace of God and with our willingness. Sometimes when we are so hurt, we refuse to forgive from within our hearts. God does not force us to forgive. He only waits for us to be willing and He will help us. He knows all our hearts and what pains or troubles us. He desires that we give it all to Him so that all our pain will be transformed into channels of grace. With this, He heals us and restores everything we’ve lost.

In the Gospel today, we learned that the trespasses done against us are like debts. God forgives us first from these debts through His sacrifice on the cross and resurrection. We are commanded to do the same with others. It is not a question of whether we can or we cannot, but how we are willing to obey God even in the midst of our darkness and hurts. We have to start first with wanting to forgive and asking God to help us; He will take over from there. He will guide us what to do. Forgiveness is not equivalent to reconciliation where people sometimes think you have to make peace at once with others. This is not the case. Forgiveness is done in prayer, in God's presence where we confide all our feelings and what pains us to Him as our loving Father or a best friend.

Humans' natural response is revenge, wrath or anger, and unforgiveness which are openings for demons to enter our lives and to take influence. Forgiveness opens the flow to many blessings of God if you're only willing to do it and begin from there. This means not counting the sins of others against us all with the help of God. With Him there is nothing impossible. His is our healing and our restoration. We only need to believe it and to trust in God who is our Savior. Amen. 

Source:

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/word-of-the-day.html

Amen +

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, be with us always until the hour of our death. Amen. +

May the Lord + bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen. +  

Saint Robert Bellarmine, Bishop and Doctor—Optional Memorial:

https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/september-17---saint-robert-bellarmine-bishop-and-doctor--optional-memorial

(Not celebrated as a liturgical memorial this year since it falls on Sunday)

Examination of Conscience and Guide to Sacrament of Confession:

https://mycatholic.life/catholic-prayers/examination-of-conscience/

Ultimate Catholic Parents Guide:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=Ls6IcexZAls

Summary and Defense of Catholic Teachings:

https://www.catholic.com/tract/pillar-of-fire-pillar-of-truth

F.M.M.J