Forgive As We Are Forgiven

Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

13 September 2026

 

First Reading: Sirach 27:30–28:7

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 103:1-2, 3-4, 9-10, 11-12

Second Reading: Romans 14:7-9

Gospel: Matthew 18:21-35

 

Reflection

By: John Paulo Gonzales

 

[WARNING: Contains mention of violence only for the purpose of discourse]

Today is posed another challenge in the Gospel: How do we forgive? It is important that we are reminded of how essential it is to forgive so we are strengthened in our understanding of why we must do it in perpetuity—seventy-seven times, even (Matthew 18:21-22). The importance of forgiveness is stated in the Bible: God’s forgiveness affords us His eternal redemption in Heaven through the shedding of Christ’s Blood (Acts 2:38). On earth, we are forgiven, ourselves, if we forgive our brothers and sisters (Matthew 6:14-15).

So important is forgiveness that God says: if we have any grievance against our brothers and sisters, we must resolve it first before leaving our offering at the altar (Matthew 5:23-24; Mark 11:25). Indeed, it is expressly significant to forgive not that it precedes adoration (as if to establish eminence), but that it personifies our adoration to the Father. That is, as we worship God in prayer, so should we exercise forgiveness in our relationship with our brothers and sisters.

Many accounts give us demonstrations of how it is to forgive: Joseph forgave the brothers who had him almost killed but opted instead to sell him into slavery (Genesis 50:15-21), giving rise to one of the passages we behold today: “What [others] intended for evil, God meant [it] for good” (Genesis 50:20). St. Maria Goretti, a budding adolescent then, was locked into by the eyes of a tormentor whose heated passion subjected her to carnal assault. She died about 24 hours after the attack. 30 years after the perpetrator was put behind bars, one night, Goretti appeared in a dream where she gathered flowers and offered them to him. After the perpetrator’s release, he begged for the forgiveness of Goretti’s mother, and he was seen kneeling among a sea of people, crying tears of joy at Goretti’s beatification in 1947 (Fraciscan Media, n.d.). St. Maria Goretti’s forgiveness paved the way not only for the emancipation of her perpetrator, but also for his radical conversion, with the perpetrator—Alessandro Serenelli—soon becoming a Capuchin brother.

St. John Paul II is another exemplary model of forgiveness. In 1981, amid a general audience in St. Peter’s Square, the former pontiff was shot twice in an assassination attempt. After two years of recovery from sustained wounds, St. John Paul II visited his assailant, talked with him to foster conversation and express his forgiveness, and rallied the faithful to forgive and pray for him as well. More than a decade into the assassin’s incarceration, the former pope appealed to the president of Italy for pardon, leading to the gunman’s release in 2000—symbolically—in a Year of Jubilee (Tornielli, 2021; Szalajko, 2026).

Forgiveness does not always announce itself from the mountaintops. Sometimes, it exists in the stillness of a whisper. St. Thérèse of Lisieux provides a notable example of how to administer forgiveness towards those who, day-to-day, give us a hard time. In her convent life, St. Thérèse suffered reproach from her elders, to which she responded with grace, silent acceptance, and forgiveness, considering such slights as “simple barriers [she needs] to endure [...] to share in God’s holiness” (Melbourne Catholic, 2020).

Amid our many stellar examples of forgiveness, there is One we know from the Bible Who “demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, [He] died for us” (Romans 5:8). This is Jesus—the Christ Who petitioned the Father in ultimate forgiveness: “Forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).

While we are in the world, there are many things that can move us; some affecting us so deeply as to stir within us a significant disquiet. There are transgressions that can pierce us so greatly that we struggle to move forward, live in good spirits, let alone forgive perfectly; but the virtue of forgiveness is presented nevertheless, in a measure we can carry out by the strength of God than our own, so we have a means through which we not only absolve others, but also liberate ourselves. Lofty a standard it is to forgive, but it is never a door we cannot walk through, by the grace of God which makes the impossible possible. In our predicaments, we have a “High Priest who is [able] to empathize with our weaknesses” (Hebrews 4:15); One in Whom we can confide our pains; the “Friend who sticks closer than a brother” (Proverbs 18:24).

If it is us, in turn, who need forgiveness, the grace of God is replete in the sacraments: Penance and Reconciliation and the Holy Eucharist—with the Penitential Act preceding standard liturgical celebrations; and the Church—the Community we are likewise encouraged to convene with when confessing our sins so we can share our struggles, pray for them, and obtain healing together (James 5:16).

Prayer

God, thank You for Your Presence and for reminding us how important it is to forgive, especially that in such a way, we, ourselves, be forgiven. Please help us forgive the faults we have yet to pardon, to be patient with our own errors, to courageously ask forgiveness for the mistakes we commit, and to help create a space in Church where it is healthy to confess our failings and hardships with each other in trust, faith, and love, as You intend.

We also continue to pray for those who suffer the effects of devastating weather conditions, political conflicts, violence, eternal peace for the deceased faithful from the clergy to the lay community, and for spiritual vocations.

These, we ask, in Jesus’ most holy Name, Amen.