Daily Gospel Reflection
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August 12, 2021
Peter approached Jesus and asked him,
“Lord, if my brother sins against me,
how often must I forgive him?
As many as seven times?”
Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.
That is why the Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king
who decided to settle accounts with his servants.
When he began the accounting,
a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount.
Since he had no way of paying it back,
his master ordered him to be sold,
along with his wife, his children, and all his property,
in payment of the debt.
At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said,
‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.’
Moved with compassion the master of that servant
let him go and forgave him the loan.
When that servant had left, he found one of his fellow servants
who owed him a much smaller amount.
He seized him and started to choke him, demanding,
‘Pay back what you owe.’
Falling to his knees, his fellow servant begged him,
‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’
But he refused.
Instead, he had the fellow servant put in prison
until he paid back the debt.
Now when his fellow servants saw what had happened,
they were deeply disturbed,
and went to their master and reported the whole affair.
His master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant!
I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to.
Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant,
as I had pity on you?’
Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers
until he should pay back the whole debt.
So will my heavenly Father do to you,
unless each of you forgives his brother from his heart.”
When Jesus finished these words, he left Galilee
and went to the district of Judea across the Jordan.
I shift uncomfortably in the pew and attempt to sit up a little straighter. I place the small cotton toy lamb—which they had rested in the hands of each 8-year-old only moments prior—down next to me so that I can pick up and flip through the “First Rite of Reconciliation” booklet. I’m silently reading through trying to memorize the petitions when a parent gestures to me that it’s my turn.
When I come back to the pew, I feel a sense of peaceful relief wash over me. I kneel down to say an Our Father.
It can be difficult to admit when we have done wrong, but we’re taught from a young age that God’s forgiveness is infinite. However, it is sometimes easy to lose sight of the preparation also required to exercise genuine and loving forgiveness to others in return.
Now 17 years later, when I pray the Our Father I reflect on the line, “… forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us…” I think about opening myself up to be more forgiving in future moments where I’m tempted to be unloving. In this day and age, it can be challenging to not get caught up in toxic debates on social media or amongst family and friends, but God’s ever-present love is a reminder to assume goodwill and love one another.
In this gospel, Peter asks Jesus how often he must forgive, and Jesus’ answer is more than 10-fold what Peter originally guessed! What Jesus asks of Peter and of us seems a daunting task, but it’s also truly humbling and a beautiful opportunity to embody God’s unconditional love.
This parable illustrates the multilayered nature of forgiveness—it is not only about atoning for our sins and always gaining forgiveness in return but about being able to forgive as well. The true character of the first servant was revealed—his understanding of forgiveness was narrow which led him to mistreat those who were in need of his mercy. We pray today for the capacity to forgive as Jesus does.
Prayer
Lord, please grant us the desire to want to learn how to forgive as you do. When we beg for forgiveness, you readily grant it. All is wiped clean, all is forgotten. We put our trust in your generosity. Amen.
Saint of the Day
St. Jane Frances de Chantal was faithful to every role she played in life: wife, mother, citizen, and religious sister.
She was born in 1572 in France; her father was the president of the parliament of Burgundy. At her Confirmation, Jane took the name Frances, and she married an officer in the French military when she was 20. He had a large estate that had fallen into disrepair since his mother died; Jane immediately established regular order among the staff.
The couple had seven children, three of whom died soon after birth. After eight years of marriage, her husband was shot in the thigh during a hunting accident. He survived for nine days, enduring painful surgeries from an incompetent doctor. When he died, Jane was left a widow at the age of 28.
Jane was devastated and fell into depression for months until she was persuaded to carry on for the good of her children. She prayed that God would show her a holy guide who could help her discover what she was to do with the rest of her life. During one period of prayer, she had a vision of a man whom she did not know. Later, when she witnessed St. Francis de Sales preaching in her town, she recognized him as the man from her vision.
St. Francis would visit her father’s home frequently, and over the course of sharing meals with him and her family, Jane came to trust his wisdom. She turned to him for direction, and he encouraged her to attend to her responsibilities—to pursue holiness in her role as mother and a woman in the world.
She kept a strict schedule, dedicating much time to prayer and the care and education of her children, and she also visited sick people who lived in her neighborhood, sometimes staying up the whole night to sit with them as they lay dying.
When her children were teenagers, St. Francis encouraged Jane to establish a new religious community of sisters and helped her open a convent for the Sisters of the Visitation of Mary in 1610. St. Francis envisioned the order to be active in the world, serving others, and to be a place for women to go if they had not been accepted by other orders.
Humility was declared as a founding value for the new community, and won over people who doubted the new order or opposed its growth. Convents sprang up throughout France, 65 in all, and when she opened a convent in Paris, Jane came to know another great holy man, St. Vincent de Paul. (St. Jane is pictured with St. Vincent in this stained glass window from the chapel in Geddes Hall.) St. Vincent said that Jane was one of the holiest people he had ever met.
Jane experienced much grief and loss in her life. Nearly all of her children died before she did, and she grieved the death of her great friend and mentor, St. Francis de Sales. She was confronted with temptation and periods of dryness in prayer, and met many obstacles in her work. Through it all, she remained humble and faithful. “Destroy, cut, burn whatever opposes your holy will,” she prayed.
She died at the age of 69 and was buried next to St. Francis de Sales in the original convent they established. Her relics rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica, and she is pictured there in stained glass windows; one window shows her distributing bread to the poor.
St. Jane Frances de Chantal, you sought God even through depression and were led to serve others—pray for us!