Saint Anne Parish

Sunday 24th A

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      Both the first reading and the Gospel points out the necessity of forgiving. We are all sinner in need to be pardoned. It is the ungrateful sinner who is condemned. The Joy of being forgiven is solidified in our forgiving others who have sinned against us. The ones who think themselves as entitled to forgiveness are reluctant to offer forgiveness to others.  Mercy should be received with gratitude and Joy. Joy cannot be contained, true joy must be shared, and the ways we share our joy for receiving God divine mercy is by being merciful ourselves.

     In the parable of the desperate servant, Jesus gives us an image of how we look before God, when we decide to cling to “Wrath and Anger”. We are in deed in debt to our Lord for forgiving a debt that we could never have paid. We should have more gratitude than one who deserved life in prison for his crime and is instead is given his freedom.  What he deserved and what he got are two different things; and one would expect that person to be extremely grateful for his freedom.

      Yet we take our pardon for granted, and proof of this is demonstrated in our unwillingness to forgive others. Who is the one who has sinned against me? Have I clung to wrath and anger, which are hateful things, or have I set my heart on true forgiveness and joy, which are beautiful things. As is contained in the first reading, the parable and the "Our Father", the message is the same, if we want to be forgiven we must learn to forgive. It is not enough to be sorry for our sins and confess them, we must also be merciful and forgiving others. Amen

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