12/09/2026
SUNDAY HOMILY | September 13, 2026
Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
1st Reading: Sirach 27:30—28:7
2nd Reading: Romans 14:7-9
Gospel: Matthew 18:21-35
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Today, the Word of God gives us a very important message: we must learn to forgive. In today's Gospel, Peter comes to Jesus and asks, “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Peter probably thought that seven times was already very generous. But Jesus gives him a surprising answer: “Not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” Jesus is not asking us to count how many times we forgive someone. He is teaching us that forgiveness should not have a limit.
There was once a man who had a small shop. One day, another man cheated him and took a large amount of money. The shopkeeper became very angry. He could not sleep because he kept thinking about what had happened. After some days, he went to speak with the man who had cheated him. The man was very sorry. He admitted his mistake and asked for forgiveness. The shopkeeper said, “What you did was wrong, and you caused me great pain. But I have decided not to carry this anger in my heart anymore. I forgive you.” The man was surprised and asked, “How can you forgive me after what I did?” The shopkeeper replied, “Because I also need forgiveness from God. I cannot ask God to forgive my mistakes while refusing to forgive someone who has hurt me.” His forgiveness did not change the past. The money was still lost, and the pain had really happened. But forgiveness gave him freedom from anger and hatred.
This story helps us understand today's Gospel. Jesus tells us about a servant who owed his master a huge amount of money. The master had compassion on him and cancelled his entire debt. But after receiving such great mercy, that same servant went to another servant who owed him a much smaller amount. Instead of showing mercy, he demanded payment and treated him harshly. When the master heard what had happened, he was angry. Through this story, Jesus gives us a very clear message: if God has forgiven us so much, we must also learn to forgive others.
The first reading from the Book of Sirach gives us the same message. It says, “Forgive your neighbour's injustice; then when you pray, your own sins will be forgiven.” These are very powerful words. Sometimes we come to church and pray, “Lord, forgive me.” But at the same time, there may be someone whom we refuse to forgive. Sirach reminds us that our relationship with God cannot be separated from our relationship with other people. If we want to receive God's mercy, we must also learn to show mercy.
The second reading from St Paul reminds us that we belong to the Lord. Whether we live or die, we belong to Christ. Therefore, our lives should not be controlled by anger, hatred, pride, or revenge. We belong to Jesus, and Jesus shows us the way of love, mercy, and forgiveness.
Brothers and sisters, we know that forgiveness is not always easy. Sometimes the person who hurt us does not even say sorry. Sometimes the wound is very deep. Sometimes we ask, “Why should I forgive when that person has not changed?” But Jesus asks us to forgive, not because the other person deserves our forgiveness, but because we ourselves have received God's mercy.
Forgiveness does not mean that what someone did to us was acceptable. It does not mean that we should allow someone to continue hurting us. It does not always mean that we immediately trust that person again. Trust can take time to rebuild. But forgiveness means that we choose not to live with hatred and revenge in our hearts. It means saying, “I will not allow this pain to control my life. I will not allow hatred to destroy my heart. I place this person and this situation into God's hands.”
Sometimes we say, “I can forgive, but I will never forget.” It is true that some painful experiences are not easy to forget. But forgiveness is not about erasing our memories. It is about allowing God to heal our hearts so that our memories no longer control us with anger. Forgiveness is often a process. Sometimes we have to forgive the same person in our hearts many times because the pain comes back. That is why Jesus tells Peter to forgive “seventy-seven times.” He is teaching us to keep choosing forgiveness.
This week, I invite each one of us to think about one person whom we find difficult to forgive. Maybe it is a family member, a friend, a colleague, or someone who hurt us many years ago. Perhaps we are still carrying anger in our hearts. We can begin by bringing that person before Jesus in prayer. We can simply say, “Lord Jesus, I cannot forgive this person by myself. Give me the grace to forgive. Heal my heart and help me to let go of my anger.” Sometimes forgiveness begins with a prayer before it becomes a feeling.
Dear brothers and sisters, God has forgiven us again and again. Every time we fall, we come back to Him. Every time we say, “Lord, have
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