9781644135945

The Light of the World
mercy and considered only the willingness of the servant to pay a debt that was entirely beyond
his power to satisfy. He forgave him the debt “because thou besoughtest me.” Such is God’s way.
When the erring sinner humbles himself and acknowledges his sin, repents of it and resolves
to do better, God forgives his sin, no matter how great it may be. How powerful is the prayer of
sorrow and repentance when it seeks mercy and forgiveness! “But thou hast mercy upon all,
because thou canst do all things and overlookest the sins of men for the sake of repentance” (Ws
11:24). “As I live, saith the Lord God, I desire not the death of the wicked, but that the wicked
turn from his way and live” (Ez 33:11). “The Lord dealeth patiently for your sake, not willing
that any should perish, but that all should return to penance” (2 Pt 3:9).
“Shouldst not thou then have had compassion also on thy fellow servant, even as I had
compassion on thee?” (Gospel.) Our God is a merciful God, but He is also just. The master
had forgiven the wicked servant his entire debt. “But when that servant was gone out, he
found one of his fellow servants that owed him a hundred pence; and laying hold of him he
throttled him, saying: Pay what thou owest. And his fellow servant, falling down, besought
him, saying: Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And he would not; but went
and cast him into prison till he paid the debt” (Gospel). The master heard of this harsh
act and summoned the unmerciful servant before him, and said: “Thou wicked servant, I
forgave thee all the debt, because thou besoughtest me; shouldst not thou then have had
compassion also on thy fellow servant even as I had compassion on thee?” When God is
merciful to us, He expects that we extend mercy and forgiveness to those who injure us or
cause us sorrow or pain. “But I say to you: Love your enemies; do good to them that hate
you; and pray for them that persecute and calumniate you, that you may be the children of
your Father who is in heaven, who maketh His sun to rise upon the good and the bad, and
raineth upon the just and the unjust” (Mt 5:44 f.). “And when you shall stand to pray, forgive
if you have aught against any man, that your Father also, who is in heaven, may forgive
you your sins” (Mk 11:25). It is only just, then, that we who have so often experienced the
mercy of God should extend a like mercy to those who offend us. But how sadly we fail in
thus being the children of our heavenly Father! How often we utter our own sentence of
condemnation when we fail to forgive others!
This, then, is a preliminary condition for those who wish to obtain mercy and dispose themselves
for forgiveness: they must be prepared to show a merciful and forgiving love for their
brother. “For if you will forgive men their offenses, your heavenly Father will forgive you also
your offenses” (Mt 6:14). “If therefore thou offer thy gift at the altar, and there thou remember
that thy brother hath anything against thee, leave there thy offering before the altar and go first
to be reconciled to thy brother; and then coming thou shalt offer thy gift” (Mt 5:23 f.). The
Kiss of Peace immediately before the Communion of the Mass is our pledge that we forgive our
brethren from the bottom of our heart and cast all bitterness and resentment aside: “May the
peace of the Lord be with you.” Only when we have signified our union with our brethren do
we dare approach to receive the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, “the sacrament of brotherly
love, the symbol of unity and the bond of charity” (St. Augustine).
“[He] forgave him the debt.” How abundant is God’s mercy in the sacrament of penance!
We repent of our sins, we confess them humbly to the representative of God in the confessional,
we beg for forgiveness, and we are prepared to perform the penance that is assigned to us. And
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