Tuesday of the Third Week of Lent

Today's Mass Readings

If we look back over our lives, most of us will find something or other that we very much regret. We might remember speaking or acting in ways that hurt others. Sometimes these experiences of personal failure leave us very burdened.

In today’s Gospel, Peter asks Jesus, “How often must I forgive?” Jesus answers, “Seventy-seven times.” The number seven for people back then was the full number. When Jesus says, “Seventy-seven times,” he means that there should usually be no limit to forgiveness.

Then Jesus tells the sad story of the servant who could not forgive his fellow servant. His action was awful, especially considering that his master had completely forgiven his own debt.

Applying this to ourselves, remember what we say in the Lord’s Prayer. “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” Jesus didn’t attach a number to that expression.

Lent is a time for us to receive forgiveness for our sins. We are encouraged to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation during these weeks.

We also remember that forgiveness is a gift of the Risen Christ. On Easter Sunday, Jesus words, ‘Peace be with you,’ assured the disciples of the Lord’s forgiveness. For those first disciples, the initial experience of the risen Lord took the form of a profound experience of forgiveness. This was the risen Lord’s gift to them.

He followed this with his mandate, “Whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven them.” He commissioned the apostles to act in his name, absolving penitents of their sins with the words: “God sent the Holy Spirit among us, for the forgiveness of sins.”

Reflection: Do I seek forgiveness from God, and from persons whom I have hurt?

Reflection by Archbishop Jerome Hanus, OSB