Jesus is God’s compassion made flesh.  Hence, we Christians are to be compassionate and to forgive those who sin against us.

Peter is already generous as he suggests that we have to forgive up to seven times a brother who sins.  But Jesus goes further than such generosity.  For he tells us to forgive as many as seventy-seven times, that is, always, a brother who sins against us.

So, Jesus lets us know that forgiveness lies further than human legalistic ratings.  In other words, we should think, feel and do as God in the matter of forgiving:  as our Father who is in heaven forgives us, so also must we forgive those who sin against us.  Mad should be our mercy, a grace that does not impose conditions nor is denied to one who turns it down.

And not to forgive those who sin against us as God forgives us means our own ruin, our own torture.  For not to forgive our brothers or sisters is not to have compassion.  And not to have compassion is to lack humanity, it is to be worse than animals (SV.EN XII:222).  It is to refuse to be fully human, not to reach self-fulfillment.

Not to have compassion also means to be a caricature of a Christian. And such a Christian, of course, cannot live or die for Christ.

Lord Jesus, give us a new heart and put a new spirit within us.  Take away from our body the heart of stone and give us a heart of flesh.  We shall thus get to forgive those who sin against us.  And grant us who hold your Supper to recall the covenant of the Most High and to overlook faults. 

13 September 2026
24th Sunday in O.T. (A)
Sir 27, 30 – 28, 7; Rom 14, 7-9; Mt 18, 21-35