GOSPEL OF THE DAY

From the Gospel according to 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.”

The Word of the Lord

 

From “you owe me” to “I give myself”

Have you asked God for the gift of Forgiveness? Sin makes us keep accounts: “you owe me”, and the debt ends up conditioning everything in my marriage. Jesus teaches me that to forgive is to stop looking at the debt and to look again at the other person. A gaze of compassion that allows me to see their suffering, beyond the hurt they have caused me; to renounce collecting what is owed and, united to Christ, to offer for their good the pain of my wound — which still hurts.

It is moving from “you owe me” to “I give myself”. And that is supernatural. ASK FOR IT! Be brave. You will experience the Life of Christ, the freest man who has ever walked the face of the earth.

Applied to married life

Mary had been distant from her husband John for days. Inside, she kept a running tally: “You didn’t listen to me; you came home late again; you didn’t even ask how I was…”

One night she found John exhausted. For a moment she stopped seeing the man who “owed” her so many things and saw her husband again: tired, wounded, and also in need of understanding. She felt compassion and wanted to draw near… but she couldn’t. Her wound held her back.

The next morning she rose early and, before the Lord present in the Tabernacle, said: “Lord, I can’t. Do it in me.”

That evening, sustained by the grace of her sacrament, she approached John, took his hand, and asked him sincerely:

— How are you?

The wound was still there, but it no longer ruled her. Mary had taken the first step: stopping the desire to collect what was owed and beginning to give herself. Christ had begun to work in her heart.

 

Mother,

Show us the mercy of your Son. May He be blessed and praised for ever, He who redeemed us with His Blood.