Thursday, June 18, 2026

 

Thursday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time

(Sirach 48:1-14; Matthew 6:7-15)

A man was hurt as a child by the school’s bully.  His arm was twisted behind his back until its ligaments were torn from the bone.  The injury caused intense pain at the moment and long afterwards. He resented his offender until he experienced a conversion when he was writing him a letter about the trouble he caused.

One day, the man found his abuser’s picture and a description of his activities in an Internet search.  The former bad boy was the director of a large trucking company.  The man began a grudge letter but then stopped realizing that he harbored hatred.  The letter changed from vindictive to reconciliatory as the man asked forgiveness for his long-term resentment.  He received a gracious letter back, but it was also a bit disappointing.  The former bully said that he honestly could not recall the incident but was sorry for any injury he had caused.

Sometimes we hurt others without realizing the damage that is done.   We cannot make an adequate apology.  We stand helpless before God unable to feel contriteness for our sin.  In light of what Jesus says in today’s gospel, we should ask God to forgive not only the offenses we are conscious of but also those which we do not realize that we made.  Likewise, we pray that we may forgive others even when – as is sometimes the case -- they do not realize how they have offended us.

Thursday, July 10, 2025

 

Thursday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time

(Genesis 44:18-21.23b-29.45:1-5; Matthew I0:7-15)

In his 2002 World Day of Peace message, Pope St. John Paul II wrote that there is no peace without justice and that there is no justice without forgiveness.  The latter is a necessary component of peace because it is Impossible for people to work together with enmity filling their hearts.  In today’s first reading Joseph shows required forgiveness toward his brothers.

Of course, Jesus is the teacher and exemplar par excellence of forgiveness.  It has a central place in the Sermon on the Mount (Mt 6:14-15).  He likewise wills to forgive when he prays to his Father for his executioners (Lk 23:24).  Joseph anticipates these actions as he forgives his brothers for selling him into slavery.

Forgiveness does not come easily.  Sometimes we are hurt so bad that it is hard to wish another well.  Then we must pray like Jesus for the will to allow others find the road to salvation.

Tuesday, February 20, 2024

Tuesday of the First Week of Lent

(Isaiah 55:10-11; Matthew 6:7-15)

In the Old Testament the ear takes precedence over the eye.  God frequently talks to His people at least through the prophets.  But only once does He show himself in full theophany.  In today’s first reading God Himself emphasizes the efficacy of His word.  He says that it always achieves His purpose.

The gospel makes the word of God Jesus’ disciples’ own word.  Jesus, God incarnate, teaches his followers how to pray with an emphasis on forgiveness.  The Father will forgive those who forgive the offenses of others.

Forgiveness requires humility.  When we forgive, we give up the claims we have against our offenders.  Our pride can keep this from happening.  However, hearing Jesus’ guarantee of our own forgiveness, we cannot afford not to forgive.

Thursday, August 17, 2023

 Thursday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time

(Josua 3:7-10a.13-17; Matthew 18:29-19:1)

If love is at the heart of Jesus’ teaching, then forgiveness is at the core of love.  Over and over Jesus tells his disciples to forgive.  In today’s gospel he underscores the need to forgive with a parable.

Forgiveness is central to Christianity because Jesus gained the Father’s forgiveness of human sin.  As God has forgiven the sins of humans, they should in turn forgive the sins of one another.  Forgiveness, it must be added, is no slight matter as if it should be dispensed like paper napkins.  Both debtors in the parable acknowledge their debt and plea for mercy. 

If the sinner does not express contriteness and a willingness to reform, forgiveness is not required.  What should we do then, if the person who offends us remains uncontrite?  Love admonishes us to pray.  We pray that the offender duly repents and also that our assessment of the wrong is on target.

Thursday, July 13, 2023

Thursday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time

(Genesis 44:18-21.23b-29.45:1-5; Matthew 10:7-15)

In the Our Father one makes a hefty promise.  Praying, “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us,” commits the person to forgive when she or he has been offended. When one is injured or has his or her heart broken, forgiveness is as difficult as donating a kidney.  Nevertheless, Joseph is able to forgive his offenders without even knowing the Lord’s Prayer.

Joseph shows great faith as he not only forgives, but also finds the Lord’s hand in his trials.  For his belief, he is twice blessed.  Not only has he thrived in Egypt, but he will see his beloved father and brother again.  Under the tutelage of the Spirit, Joseph understands his receiving God’s favor as an opportunity to help others.

We may pray the Our Father ten times a day without taking the words to heart. When we live out those words, however, we will not be disillusioned.  God will bless us like Joseph and give us opportunities to help others.

 

Monday, November 7, 2022

Monday of the Thirty-send Week in Ordinary Time

(Titus 1:1-9; Luke 17:1-6)

“I’ve told you a million times…” our mothers used to begin a scolding.  Of course, they didn’t mean literally a million times, just repeatedly.  We have to understand Jesus’ command in today’s gospel in this vein.  He doesn’t literally mean that a person should be forgiven literally seven times in the same day for offending another. But he wants his disciples to be ready to forgive when the offender makes a sincere apology.

A corollary issue of this gospel is whether the offender must ask forgiveness.  In practice the Church has insisted upon confession of serious sins before absolution is granted.  Yet many today claim the necessity to forgive even if the offender doesn’t care about having done wrong.  It seems that out of love of enemy, the offended should pray that the offender seeks pardon.  However, forgiveness should be rendered when it is sought.  For sure, the offended party should avoid revenge or enmity toward the offender.

Even to pray for an offender requires great faith.  For this reason, the disciples ask for its increase.  But forgiving our enemies is no marginal issue.  As it is at the center of the Our Father, it is central to our allegiance to Christ because it concerns love of enemies.

Thursday, June 17, 2021

 Thursday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time

(II Corinthians 11:1-11; Matthew 6:7-15)

Pope St. John Paul II added significantly to the prophetic assertion that there is no peace without justice. He gave the insight that there is no justice without forgiveness.  He evidently saw forgiveness as the key to social harmony.  His testimony underscores the emphasis Jesus gives forgiveness in today’s gospel passage.

Jesus not only places forgiveness in a key place in the model prayer for his disciples; he also comments on its importance.  He considers forgiveness crucial to living as God’s children.  Forgiveness frees one’s consciences from the burden of guilt.  She or he can concentrate on doing good and not on repaying debt.  Jesus emphasizes that forgiveness is not reciprocal but dynamic. God forgives a person’s offenses if that person forgives another’s offenses.

But it is hard to forgive if we have been offended deeply.  We want to hold on to a grudge until we can get even.  That attitude, however, belies our membership in God’s family.  If we retain a grudge, we have no right to call God “Our Father.”

Tuesday, March 9, 2021

Tuesday of the Third Week of Lent

(Daniel 3:25.34-43; Matthew 18:21-35)

In his message for the World Day of Peace in 2002, Pope St. John Paul II reflected on the 9-11 terrorist attacks.  He repeated the proverb that without justice, there is no peace.  He also made the insight that without forgiveness there is no justice.  People have to give up their claims for past injuries if they ever expect to have right relationships with others.  He was not advocating that nations or individuals ignore past grievances.  But he did mean that feeling God’s love, the person or state can express love for the offender. This love may be called mercy.

Both readings today show the need for mercy.  The young man praying in the furnace asks for God’s mercy on his people who calls disobedient.  God will save the youth from the furnace and bring his people back to the land of the ancestors.  The parable of Jesus is stunning in its contrast.  The original debtor is said to owe “a huge amount.”  One should think in terms of ten digits of dollars.  The second debtor owes “a much smaller amount,” perhaps a few hundred dollars.  Yet the first debtor cannot forgive him.  There will never be justice in that first debtor’s life, much less peace.

We can forgive others when we remember how much love God has for us.  We need not assess our sins to see how much we have been forgiven.  Out of love God gives us life, friends, work, and rest.  For these reasons we should be ready to forgive. 

Thursday, April 9, 2015

Thursday of the Octave of Easter

(Acts 3:11-26; Luke 24:35-48)

A pastor is accused of an indiscretion that is supposed to have been done forty years ago.  He is removed from service despite protests of his parishioners who honor and respect him.  Another priest asks, “…is there no forgiveness for one mistake made many, many years ago?”  The question is hard but fair in view of today’s first reading.

Peter is speaking to the people of Jerusalem.  He accuses them of handing over for execution Jesus, the “author of life.”  But his tone is conciliatory.  He acknowledges that they acted out of ignorance and affirms their status as “children of the prophets and of the covenant.”  He offers them forgiveness and added blessings.  These benefits come with the outpouring of grace from Jesus’ resurrection.

A dozen years ago the bishops of the United States set the rule “one strike and you’re out” to deal with the sexual abuse scandal.  They needed to act boldly to reestablish confidence in the Catholic Church.   In the process worthy priests as well as scoundrels have been stripped of their ministry.  As we pray for the victims of abuse and that it never takes place again, we pray also for these priests.  We might add that perhaps now with the crisis over, the Church might relax the rule.  In single cases where rehabilitation has obviously occurred, a priest should be forgiven so that he might continue his good service.

Thursday, June 19, 2014

Thursday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time

(Sirach 48:1-14; Matthew 6:7-15)

It is said that the "Our Father" lies at the heart of the Sermon on the Mount.  It may be added that at the heart of the "Our Father" lies Jesus' mandate to forgive.  Because it is not easy to fulfill, Jesus emphasizes it time and again in this gospel according to Matthew.

For lack of forgiveness Sunni and Shiite Muslims are at war in Iraq tearing apart that already shattered country.  For lack of forgiveness some brothers do not talk to each other.  Once, two priests ministered at the same hospital.  One was the hospital chaplain and the other, the vicar of the local parish.  Evidently something happened between the two which caused them not to speak to the one another.  They would pass each other on the floors of the hospital without saying a word.  Certainly their ministry to patients was compromised by the lack of communication.  They probably were causing as well scandal to everyone who knew them, Catholic and non-Catholic alike.

Perhaps we have difficulty in forgiving because we think highly of ourselves and our sense of justice is violated by an act done against us.  Then we must remember that our highest dignity is being children of God who pleads with us to come down from our perch to make friends with everyone.

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Tuesday of the Third Week of Lent

(Daniel 3:25.34-43; Matthew 18:21-35)

A little girl comes home crying.  She says that she fell down and ruined her dress.  The mother takes her into her arms to console her.  She says, “I don’t care if you ruined a hundred dresses, just as long as you aren’t hurt.”  Such graciousness is what Jesus demands of his disciples in today’s gospel reading.

Peter comes to Jesus asking for a rule of thumb to determine how much patience is required with an offensive church member, a “brother.”  A situation can be readily imagined. A member of the community consistently comes late for services.  She says that she is sorry and promises to try harder to be on time.  But her tardiness is disruptive and the pastor wants to draw a line that might help her to fulfill her promise.  What would Jesus say?

Jesus tells us to forgive the truly repentant, no matter the number of times.  He exhorts long-suffering as a way of expressing love.  But he would also advise discerning the sincerity of the offender.  If she treats others with a similar magnanimity, pardon can be joyfully extended.  If she harshly judges the motives of others, the earnestness of her intention to reform is dubious. 

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Tuesday of the First Week in Lent

(Isaiah 55:10-11; Matthew 6:7-15)

Christianity essentially is not an ethic but an encounter. It is to know Jesus as our Savior and Lord. However, from this association a way of living emerges. In the “Lord’s Prayer” of today’s gospel, a striking feature of the Christian way is highlighted.

Christians are not to hold grudges. Rather, they are to forgive those who offend them just as they ask God, the Father, to forgive their offenses. Blessed John Paul II brilliantly illustrated this principle when he visited his attempted assassin in prison. In doing so, the pope imitated Jesus in at least two gospel scenes. On the cross in the gospel of Luke Jesus asks his Father in heaven to forgive his executioners. Also, in a resurrection appearance of John’s gospel Jesus seeks out Peter who denied him publicly.

Forgiveness epitomizes the change of heart to which Jesus calls us. It seems more consistent with Jesus’ manner that we do not wantonly proclaim forgiveness to everyone who upsets us. Before that, there is need for a determination of the culpable party and for an admission of guilt. But whether or not a request for forgiveness is forthcoming, we are to pray for those toward whom we feel animosity.

Monday, December 5, 2011

Monday of the Second Week of Advent

(Isaiah 35:1-10; Luke 5:17-26)

The young man wanted to see a priest. He said that he needed to talk about his life awhile and then go to confession. He was in no hurry, he said, because this time he wanted the grace of the sacrament to stick. Is the paralytic of such a mind when he is lowered in front of Jesus in today’s gospel?

The gospel relates how the Scribes and Pharisees feel indignation with Jesus’ pardoning of the paralytic, but it doesn’t say how the pardoned man hears Jesus. Perhaps he is disappointed because he was looking for a physical healing. After all, he is introduced as “a man who was paralyzed.” But perhaps that description just tells what people see when they look at him. It is possible that he came to see the holy one, Jesus, to seek his consolation for having lived wickedly. If so, hearing words of forgiveness may sooth him more than being healed.

To answer the question which Jesus poses to his critics honestly, we would have to say that it is easier to talk about forgiveness of sins than to spontaneously heal someone. For us, as for the Pharisees, it sometimes seems impossible that our guilt may be wiped away in an instant. But such a mighty deed becomes credible when we recognize Jesus for whom the gospels claim him to be - the Son of God who has come to us.

Homilette for Monday, March 9, 2009

Monday of the Second Week in Lent

(Luke 6:36-38)

Three years ago a gunman entered an Amish school near Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and took a number of young girls as hostages. He bound them with plastic ties and half an hour later murdered five of them. He then took his own life.

The violence, of course, disturbed the whole country. But much more remarkable was what happened afterwards. The Amish community, true to their arduous compliance with Scripture, extended forgiveness to the family of the assassin. The widow of the murderer, deeply touched by the community’s charity, later wrote them in open letter, "Your love for our family has helped to provide the healing we so desperately need.”

In the gospel today Jesus calls us to be merciful. It has been pointed out that where in the Gospel of Matthew Jesus calls his disciples to be perfect, Luke shows him emphasizing mercy as if mercy is the perfection of God. When we are called upon to forgive a really serious offense, it certainly seems like a monumental task. As the poet Alexander Pope put it, “To err is human; to forgive divine.”

Homilette for Thursday, June 12, 2008

Thursday of the Tenth Week of Ordinary Time

(Matthew 5:20-26)

In his book Blood Brothers Elias Chacour, the archbishop of Galilee in the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, tells of a reconciliation he catalyzed as the pastor of a small Palestinian town. The parish was riddled with factions. Families as well as the community were divided. The young pastor, Fr. Elias, decided to force the situation. At the end of Mass on Palm Sunday, 1967, he hastened to the back of the small church and locked the door. Then he announced that no one would leave until they forgave one another. He said that they were not Christians simply because they sat in church. He told them that they allowed the body of Christ to be disgraced. Shocked by the demand, perhaps insulted by the charge, not knowing what to do, the people just stood there. The pastor began to sweat. He could hear the gait of a mule outside and may have thought himself as dumb as the animal. Then a man, the police constable of the town, spoke up. He said that he was the biggest sinner of all for hating his own brothers. He apologized to everyone. Then he went to his brothers who rushed out of their pews to him – all asking mutual forgiveness. Fr. Elias writes, “Within an instant the church was a chaos of embracing and repentance.

Jesus commands such repentance from the heart in the gospel today. Of course, when he says “brother,” he does not mean only blood brothers and sisters but everyone created in the image of God, the Father. Critical to note as well, Jesus is not seeking here forgiveness of others when they offend us. No, he is asking us to recognize our offenses and ask pardon of others. Too often, we become stuck on how others have hurt us.

In the Sermon on the Mount, from which, of course, this gospel passage is extracted, Jesus makes great demands on his followers. We wonder if we can meet them. We need to remember that Jesus provides his Holy Spirit to shore up our weakness to pursue what is difficult. As Pope Benedict has said, “Do not be afraid of Christ! He takes away nothing and gives everything.”

Homilette for Thursday, September 20, 2007

Thursday, XXIV Week of Ordinary Time

(Luke 7)

We may think of Jesus as unfriendly toward all Pharisees, but this is not the case. True, he does chastise some in the gospels, but he also eats with others. He really has a lot in common with Pharisees. Like them Jesus is a layman, learned in the Law, who teaches in synagogues and exerts every effort to live righteously. Nothing should seem peculiar, therefore, in Jesus’ entering a Pharisee’s home in the gospel today.

Simon, the Pharisee, becomes scandalized when Jesus allows a notoriously sinful woman to wash his feet with her tears and dry them with her hair. Although he is too proper to say it out loud, Simon sees Jesus’ indulgence as evidence that he is not a true prophet. A prophet, he thinks, would see into a person’s heart to know if she or he is worthy. But Simon is dead wrong. Jesus shows himself to be a prophet on two counts. First, he knows the woman to be repentant and thus receptive of God’s grace. Second, he reads the hypocrisy of Simon’s heart that criticizes too much and loves too little.

Jesus demonstrates God’s mercy as he forgives the woman of her sins and enlightens Simon of his. He is not too proper to call Simon to task for hypocrisy, but he does not indignantly walk away from him. We pray with complete confidence that he will treat us as graciously. As church-goers, we are susceptible to the sin of hypocrisy. When we criticize others unjustly, may Christ remind us of the sin that we commit and may he then offer us opportunities to show our love for him.

Homilette for Monday, March 5, 2007

Monday, Lent Week 2

(Luke 6)

Matthew Shepard was brutally murdered in 1998. Shepard’s killers assaulted him because he was a homosexual. After the guilty verdict Shepard’s parents agreed with the state not to seek the death penalty. Shepard’s father told one of the killers, “I would like nothing better than to see you die, Mr. McKinney, but now is the time to heal.” Although this may sound like half-hearted forgiveness, it probably took real courage to utter.

In the gospel today Jesus calls us to be merciful. It has been pointed out that where in the Gospel of Matthew Jesus calls his disciples to be perfect, Luke shows him emphasizing mercy as if mercy is the perfection of God. When we are called upon to forgive a really serious offense, it certainly seems like a superhuman task. As one poet put it, “To err is human; to forgive divine.”

What’s critical is that we don’t dwell on how we feel in such situations. Naturally we are upset. Many times anger will remain as a residue in us like the smoke marks around a fire place. We should imitate Matthew Shepard’s father and not let what we would like to see rule over what we think. No, as Jesus’ disciples, we must decide to forgive those who offend us.