News & Events
24th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Posted in News
13th. September 2026
Gospel: Matthew 18, 21 – 35
Peter went up to Jesus and said, ‘Lord, how often must I forgive my
brother if he wrongs me? As often as seven times? Jesus answered, ‘Not
seven, I tell you but seventy-seven times. And so, the Kingdom of
heaven may be compared to a king who decided to settle his accounts
with his servants, when the reckoning began, they brought him a man who
owed ten thousand talents; but he had no means of paying, so the
master gave orders that he should be sold together with his wife and
children and all his possessions, to meet the debt. At this, the
servant threw himself down at his master’s feet, “Give me time” he
said, “and I will pay the whole sum” And the servant’s master felt so
sorry for him that he let him go and cancelled the debt. Now as this
servant went out, he happened to meet a fellow servant who owed him
one hundred denarii, and he seized him by the throat and began to
throttle him “Pay what you owe me” he said. His fellow servant fell at
his feet and implored him, saying, “Give me time and I will pay you”
But the other would not agree; on the contrary, he had him thrown into
prison till he should pay the debt. His fellow servants were deeply
distressed wen they saw what had happened and they went to their
master and reported the whole affair to him. Then the master sent for
him. “You wicked servant” he said, ‘I cancelled all that debt of yours
when you appealed to me. Were you not bound then, to have pity on your
fellow servant just as I had pity on you.” And in is anger the master
handed him over to the torturers till he should pay his debt. And that
is how my heavenly Father will deal with you unless you each forgive
your brother from your heart.
______________________________
Homily
My dear sisters and brothers, as human beings, who are not perfect, we
often make mistakes. We hurt others and others hurt us. The temptation
is to seek revenge, to hurt the other as much as they have hurt us or
even more. The readings for tis Sunday remind us however, that because
we are disciples of Jesus Christ and have received God’s abundant
mercy, we are called to forgive—not by forgetting the hurt, but by
refusing to let it control our lives.
The first reading of the Mass for last Sunday the 23rd. Sunday of
Ordinary Time Cycle A., reminds us of an important responsibility,
often forgotten, but which every disciple of Jesus is called to live.
In a world poisoned by selfishness and self-promotion, some very
erroneous decisions are at times taken, decisions which very often are
unjust, and which violate the personal rights of other individuals.
Faced with this situation, the reading from the prophet Ezekiel calls
disciples of Jesus to convince perpetrators that the injustice of
their actions will lead to punishment by God. It is important to state
here however that witnesses who have not tried to convince
perpetrators of the wrong that they have done and have remained silent
will also suffer. Silence is often complicit in wrongdoing. This
Sunday the 24th in Ordinary Time, the first reading from the Book of
Ecclesiasticus reminds us that resentment can destroy our lives. When
someone hurts us, we are tempted to hold on to anger. Unless we pay
the offending person back, we remain angry and the angrier we become,
the more we forget and the more it controls us. Ecclesiastes reminds
us, Resentment and Anger are foul things, and both are found with the
sinner. My dear brothers and sisters, all human beings are creatures
of habit and habits are very quickly built. As children, in my home we
were taught two phases, one was “I am sorry”, used when we hurt
someone, the other was, “not a problem”, used when someone hurt us. We
were being taught the manner of not letting problems grow larger than
they should.
My sisters and brothers, the message is very simple. The way we treat
others is the way that God will treat us. We are told, “forgive your
neighbor the hurt he/she does you, and when you pray your sins will
be forgiven” Our relationship with God and our relationship with
others are linked. We cannot expect mercy from God if we are not
merciful to others.
Gospel: Matthew 18, 21 – 35
Peter went up to Jesus and said, ‘Lord, how often must I forgive my
brother if he wrongs me? As often as seven times? Jesus answered, ‘Not
seven, I tell you but seventy-seven times. And so, the Kingdom of
heaven may be compared to a king who decided to settle his accounts
with his servants, when the reckoning began, they brought him a man who
owed ten thousand talents; but he had no means of paying, so the
master gave orders that he should be sold together with his wife and
children and all his possessions, to meet the debt. At this, the
servant threw himself down at his master’s feet, “Give me time” he
said, “and I will pay the whole sum” And the servant’s master felt so
sorry for him that he let him go and cancelled the debt. Now as this
servant went out, he happened to meet a fellow servant who owed him
one hundred denarii, and he seized him by the throat and began to
throttle him “Pay what you owe me” he said. His fellow servant fell at
his feet and implored him, saying, “Give me time and I will pay you”
But the other would not agree; on the contrary, he had him thrown into
prison till he should pay the debt. His fellow servants were deeply
distressed wen they saw what had happened and they went to their
master and reported the whole affair to him. Then the master sent for
him. “You wicked servant” he said, ‘I cancelled all that debt of yours
when you appealed to me. Were you not bound then, to have pity on your
fellow servant just as I had pity on you.” And in is anger the master
handed him over to the torturers till he should pay his debt. And that
is how my heavenly Father will deal with you unless you each forgive
your brother from your heart.
______________________________
Homily
My dear sisters and brothers, as human beings, who are not perfect, we
often make mistakes. We hurt others and others hurt us. The temptation
is to seek revenge, to hurt the other as much as they have hurt us or
even more. The readings for tis Sunday remind us however, that because
we are disciples of Jesus Christ and have received God’s abundant
mercy, we are called to forgive—not by forgetting the hurt, but by
refusing to let it control our lives.
The first reading of the Mass for last Sunday the 23rd. Sunday of
Ordinary Time Cycle A., reminds us of an important responsibility,
often forgotten, but which every disciple of Jesus is called to live.
In a world poisoned by selfishness and self-promotion, some very
erroneous decisions are at times taken, decisions which very often are
unjust, and which violate the personal rights of other individuals.
Faced with this situation, the reading from the prophet Ezekiel calls
disciples of Jesus to convince perpetrators that the injustice of
their actions will lead to punishment by God. It is important to state
here however that witnesses who have not tried to convince
perpetrators of the wrong that they have done and have remained silent
will also suffer. Silence is often complicit in wrongdoing. This
Sunday the 24th in Ordinary Time, the first reading from the Book of
Ecclesiasticus reminds us that resentment can destroy our lives. When
someone hurts us, we are tempted to hold on to anger. Unless we pay
the offending person back, we remain angry and the angrier we become,
the more we forget and the more it controls us. Ecclesiastes reminds
us, Resentment and Anger are foul things, and both are found with the
sinner. My dear brothers and sisters, all human beings are creatures
of habit and habits are very quickly built. As children, in my home we
were taught two phases, one was “I am sorry”, used when we hurt
someone, the other was, “not a problem”, used when someone hurt us. We
were being taught the manner of not letting problems grow larger than
they should.
My sisters and brothers, the message is very simple. The way we treat
others is the way that God will treat us. We are told, “forgive your
neighbor the hurt he/she does you, and when you pray your sins will
be forgiven” Our relationship with God and our relationship with
others are linked. We cannot expect mercy from God if we are not
merciful to others.
Forgiveness does not mean pretending that nothing happened. It means choosing not to allow anger
and revenge to have the final word. Perhaps forgiveness is not
something I can accomplish in one moment, but I can begin by saying:
“Lord, I am willing to let go. Help me to forgive.”
In the second reading taken from the letter of St Paul to the Romans,
St. Paul highlights a profound truth: our life does not belong to us
alone; we belong to the Lord. Whether we are alive or have passed from
this world, we remain in Christ’s hands. Paul wrote these words while
addressing disagreements among Christians about practices such as food
and the observance of days. Some believers were judging others because
they did not follow the same practices. Paul reminds them that Christ
must be at the centre of their lives, rather than their personal
opinions. This passage therefore invites us to ask: Who is at the
centre of my life? Sometimes we live as though everything depends on
our plans, our achievements, our possessions and our reputation. But
Paul reminds us that we are not our own masters. Our life is a gift
from God and is meant to be lived for him. This is also a comforting
message when we think about death. For a Christian, death is not the
end of our relationship with Christ. “Whether we live or die, we are
the Lord’s.” Christ died and rose again so that he might be Lord of
both the living and the dead. Today, can I place my life more
completely in God’s hands? Can I trust him not only with my plans and
successes, but also with my fears, uncertainties and ultimately my
death? I belong to the Lord—and that is both a challenge and a
consolation. It is therefore important for us to recognize that the
fulfilling of our plans is not the most important thing in life. In
the hustle and bustle of life we are called to forgive—not by
forgetting the hurt, but by refusing to let it control our lives.
In the Gospel passage given to us for our meditation this weekend we
are given Jesus’ understanding and teaching on the issue of
forgiveness. Peter asks Jesus, “How often must I forgive?” and He,
Peter suggests seven times, thinking he is being generous because
seven always represented totality Jesus responds, “Not seven times,
but seventy-seven times.” Jesus is in fact emphasizing that
forgiveness has no limits. He is telling us to stop keeping count.
Forgiveness is not a mathematical calculation. It flows from the
abundant mercy that we ourselves have received from God. Jesus then
tells the parable of the unforgiving servant. The first servant owes
his master an enormous debt, something he could never repay but is
completely forgiven by his master. This servant though, faced with the
same situation, refuses to forgive another servant who has a much
smaller debt. The contrast is deliberate: Looking at our relationship
with God, all of us are people who have received immense mercy, and
therefore we are called to show mercy. Sometimes we think that by
refusing to forgive, we are punishing the person who hurt us. Often
enough, they are not even thinking about the incident anymore—and we
are still carrying it.
and revenge to have the final word. Perhaps forgiveness is not
something I can accomplish in one moment, but I can begin by saying:
“Lord, I am willing to let go. Help me to forgive.”
In the second reading taken from the letter of St Paul to the Romans,
St. Paul highlights a profound truth: our life does not belong to us
alone; we belong to the Lord. Whether we are alive or have passed from
this world, we remain in Christ’s hands. Paul wrote these words while
addressing disagreements among Christians about practices such as food
and the observance of days. Some believers were judging others because
they did not follow the same practices. Paul reminds them that Christ
must be at the centre of their lives, rather than their personal
opinions. This passage therefore invites us to ask: Who is at the
centre of my life? Sometimes we live as though everything depends on
our plans, our achievements, our possessions and our reputation. But
Paul reminds us that we are not our own masters. Our life is a gift
from God and is meant to be lived for him. This is also a comforting
message when we think about death. For a Christian, death is not the
end of our relationship with Christ. “Whether we live or die, we are
the Lord’s.” Christ died and rose again so that he might be Lord of
both the living and the dead. Today, can I place my life more
completely in God’s hands? Can I trust him not only with my plans and
successes, but also with my fears, uncertainties and ultimately my
death? I belong to the Lord—and that is both a challenge and a
consolation. It is therefore important for us to recognize that the
fulfilling of our plans is not the most important thing in life. In
the hustle and bustle of life we are called to forgive—not by
forgetting the hurt, but by refusing to let it control our lives.
In the Gospel passage given to us for our meditation this weekend we
are given Jesus’ understanding and teaching on the issue of
forgiveness. Peter asks Jesus, “How often must I forgive?” and He,
Peter suggests seven times, thinking he is being generous because
seven always represented totality Jesus responds, “Not seven times,
but seventy-seven times.” Jesus is in fact emphasizing that
forgiveness has no limits. He is telling us to stop keeping count.
Forgiveness is not a mathematical calculation. It flows from the
abundant mercy that we ourselves have received from God. Jesus then
tells the parable of the unforgiving servant. The first servant owes
his master an enormous debt, something he could never repay but is
completely forgiven by his master. This servant though, faced with the
same situation, refuses to forgive another servant who has a much
smaller debt. The contrast is deliberate: Looking at our relationship
with God, all of us are people who have received immense mercy, and
therefore we are called to show mercy. Sometimes we think that by
refusing to forgive, we are punishing the person who hurt us. Often
enough, they are not even thinking about the incident anymore—and we
are still carrying it.
The saints remind us that radical forgiveness is possible. St Maria
Goretti forgave the man who attacked her, and the histories of many
martyrdoms detail for us the stories of forgiveness, despite pain and
approaching death. As we marvel at the forgiveness which the martyrs
gave, we probably say to ourselves, “I could never do that”. Faced
with that reaction, the question which we must ask ourselves is simply
How much and how many times has God forgiven me? When we remember our
own need for mercy, our hearts can gradually become more merciful.
Unforgiveness, my dear brothers and sisters is a tool of Satan used to
conquer love. When we find it difficult to forgive, our prayer should
be the prayer of Jesus. “Father, help me to forgive them because they
do not know what they do. How important it is that our schools, our
families, our religious institutions become places which teach the
principles of Cristian living of which Mercy and forgiveness are
essential elements.
Prayer
All powerful and ever-loving God, your Son Jesus, accepted the cross
as his great act of mercy for all of us. He prayer even for those who
had betrayed him. His prayer “Father forgive them for they do not know
what they do, signals his tremendous generosity and mercy for those
who sought his death. Father, Jesus is our master and the example we
are called to follow. In difficult moments help us to remember what
Jesus has done for us. Give us the courage and strength to imitate
him, give to parents and teachers the wisdom to educate our children
to be offerors of forgiveness and builders of harmony. May your Holy
Spirit and strengthen us to reject the temptations of Satan, the
architect of disharmony. We ask all tis trough the intercession of
Mary, our mother who stood at the foot of the cross, accompanying
you’re your Son Jesus’ in his pain and suffering. Amen
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