Homily: The Key to Forgiving Others | Fr. Mathias Thelen

St. Patrick Catholic Parish Podcast

In this homily given on Sunday September 17th, 2023, Fr Mathias breaks open Jesus' parable about the unforgiving servant. Forgiveness means to release someone from the debt they owe to us, a debt they incurred when they committed an injustice against us. Because we've been forgiven a massive debt we cannot possibly repay, we are to forgive those who owe us much smaller debts which are rather insignificant in comparison. If we don't, we risk losing the forgiveness Jesus won towards us.The key to forgiving others is, therefore, living in the awareness of the big context of God's infinite mercy toward us.
Recognizing how much we've been forgiven, it's much easier to forgive others who owe us much less and insignificant amounts. Fr Mathias then distinguishes the moral difference between refusing to forgive and struggling to forgive, noting that the latter is a sign of need of healing or deliverance. Since forgiveness is a decision, one can have forgiven and not feel it. Father ends his homily offering two signs that we know we've forgiven others.