Reflection for TUESDAY, 3rd Week of Lent

By

 

Fr. Aloysius Santiago sdb
Rector and Parish Priest
Don Bosco Shrine
Lingarajapuram, Bangalore

Today's gospel Verses 

Matthew 18:31-35 

Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I cancelled all that debt of yours because you begged me to.  Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’  In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. 

 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.” 

Today's Reflection 

If we were to apply the teaching of Jesus about forgiveness on a concrete life situation, then one of it could be that of others owing us money.

The willingness to write-off the amount owed depends very much on the amount of money owed.

But what makes us very angry and resentful is that the money comes out from us so easily and yet it comes back to us so slowly, if ever at all.

The larger the amount, the greater will be the resentment, the deeper the anger and the less willing we are to forgive and forget.

So Jesus used the parable of debt owed by two servants in order to teach about forgiveness and it was a realistic situation that could be easily understood by everyone.

Yet the teaching about forgiveness is not only to express that God forgave us our sins and so we too must forgive others the wrong they did to us.

When we don't forgive, then anger and resentment will eat into our hearts and bitterness and even hatred will begin to spawn and gnaw our lives away.

With that, more evil will enter into our lives and we only end up as a wicked mess.

The teaching on forgiveness is difficult to follow that we need to trust in the Lord that we will be the first to benefit when we forgive.

With a contrite and humbled spirit let us trust in the Lord and we will not be disappointed.

Let us also ask the Lord to grant us deliverance from our anger and resentment and bitterness, and with forgiveness let us give glory to the Lord.

GOD BLESS YOU

Good morning. Have a nice safe day.