[Sirach 27:30-28:7; Psalm 103; Romans 14:7-9; Matthew 18:21-35]

“Forgive usour trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.”  These words we probably say every single day, but do we fully appreciate what they mean? Every time we say these words, we are asking God to forgive us in the same way that we forgive those who have offended us. If we hold onto a grudge against someone then we are failing to forgive them and in effect saying to God, I don’t need your forgiveness. I have yet to meet anyone who doesn’t need God’s forgiveness. We are all sinners, that’s why we come to Church and take part in the Sacrament of Reconciliation; because we need to be reconciled to God and our Community.

Forgiveness can be difficult to give, what we have to remember is that it is crucial for us to forgive; in order for us to have peace of mind. I once heard it said that if we fail to forgive someone, it is like allowing them to live rent free in our head. When we forgive, we benefit; sometimes even more than the person being forgiven. In fact, we can forgive someone without them even knowing, because sometimes they may not be aware that they have offended us.

In today’s readings we hear that vengeance belongs to God. We are not to record when someone offends us; there is to be no tit-for-tat.  We are not to harbour a grudge against anyone. This can be incredibly difficult. When we are hurt, we may feel obliged to repay or seek justice for that hurt, but God is telling us not to. We are to leave the punishments to him. If we do take revenge, then we ourselves are sinning.

St Paul tells us that we belong to the Lord, whether we live or die as Christ is Lord of both the living and the dead. When a loved one dies, they still belong to the Lord. We who are living pray for them that they may be with the Lord; and when they are with the Lord, they pray for us that we may join them. Our best hope of joining them is to love and to forgive. Forgiveness is a way of loving. To love is a decision, love is not a feeling, we need to decide to love someone. Like love, forgiveness means making a decision to do it. We can either forgive and be reconciled or live with hurt and anger in our heads; which can be frustrating and exhausting.

When Jesus tells Peter that he needs to forgive ‘seventy times seven’ he wasn’t asking Peter to count all of the times and then stop when he got to 490 times. He was telling Peter that God’s love is infinite and that we should aim to love and forgive the way that God does. If we truly believe that our Baptism makes us a brother or sister of Christ, then we are called to act as a member of His family. Forgive instead of accusing, love instead of hating.

Sometimes the hardest person to forgive is ourself. I know there have been times in my life when I have hurt people close to me and I have received their forgiveness; but I then struggle to forgive myself. I accept they have forgiven me, but I get angry and frustrated at myself that I hurt them in the first place. At these times I am called to accept the forgiveness in the spirit it has been offered and not to dwell on my actions; with the exception of trying not to repeat those actions and causing further hurt.

Some questions to reflect upon –

Is there anyone in my life that I need to forgive today?

Do I accept forgiveness when I receive it from a friend or in the Confessional?

Is there anyone in my life that I need to ask for forgiveness from today?

The parable Jesus used to demonstrate forgiveness, also give a practical example of the Our Father; our family prayer. When we say those words; which are often rushed and said without appreciating the meaning; may we focus in on the meaning of the words and learn to live out that prayer in our daily lives.

Further Reading

The Catechism of the Catholic Church

Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

CCC 218-221: God is love
CCC 294: God manifests his glory by sharing his goodness
CCC 2838-2845: “forgive us our trespasses”[1]

Please accompany in your prayers

  • All those who are sick, either at home or in hospital, especially those who have very few or no visitors.
  • Those who have died and those who grieve for them.
  • The success of the Pastoral Area Mission Plan.
  • The success of the forthcoming Alpha course which will take place in our Pastoral Area.
  • The success of the Sycamore Programme which starts this Autumn in St Michael’s.
  • All those preparing to go on pilgrimage.
  • Anyone who has offended us.

Deacon Tony

11th September 2026

[1] Homiletic Directory, Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments