Daily Gospel Reflection
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March 14, 2023
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 him 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 your brother from your heart.”
People don’t remember what you say or do; they remember how you make them feel. When the debtor is given more time but still has no way to pay back the enormous debt, he panics and makes his debtors feel the same terror he does. In many ways, we do this, too.
What we do when angry or hurt is the most transparent measure of our character. I remember suffering a big loss my sophomore year and was like the first debtor. Rather than thanking God for another day to live in his presence, I found other things under my control that went wrong and fought them because I was afraid.
So how do we stop dishing out our hurt, fear, and anger to others? How do we forgive the twelfth, seventeenth, and seventy-fifth time? We wait. We listen. We love. And when we mess up, we pray and apologize. Most importantly, we rely on Jesus for strength and mercy.
Jesus feels our pain. He felt all the pain in the world so we don’t have to feel it alone. The hurt we feel when we are neglected, passed by, lied to, cheated on, and forgotten, is what Jesus felt on the cross. We live in the presence of God fully when we lay that hurt at his feet and forgive for the seventy-seventh time.
The gospel’s promise is that when we pity others, God has pity on us. Our greatest purpose is to live fully in the presence of God. The way to do that is to live forgiving our brothers and sisters with our whole hearts. No matter how many times it takes.
In this season of Lent, let us orient our story more clearly to the foot of the cross, bowing at the feet of our Savior, praising his name.
Prayer
Lord God, in your great mercy you sent your Son to pour out himself for our sins. By his blood, he paid the price that we are unable to pay. May we always give thanks for so great a gift of love and may we in turn show your love and mercy to our neighbors. Give us the gift of your healing forgiveness to soften our hearts to be able to love as you do. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Saint of the Day
As queen, Matilda paid special attention to the poor of the kingdom—her subjects knew her more as a loving mother than as a ruler.
She was born in 895 in Germany to a royal family. She was raised by her grandmother, who was the abbess of a convent, and ensured that Matilda was well-educated and faithful in her prayer and devotion. Matilda married Henry, who ascended to the German throne shortly after they had their first child together. She was liberal in her charity, which never bothered Henry, who had confidence in her judgment and goodness.
Henry and Matilda shared five children, one of whom, Bruno, is also known as a saint. Another, Otto, became emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. Henry spent much time at war, but unified the German people into one kingdom.
After 23 years of marriage, Henry died suddenly, and Matilda was left a widow. Her son, Otto, was elected to the throne, which began a conflict with a brother. The two reconciled, but neither had Henry’s patience with Matilda’s generosity, and they accused her of squandering wealth.
She was exiled for a time, but eventually returned to the royal household and was reconciled with her son, Otto. When he was crowned emperor, he left her in charge of the kingdom, and she established three convents and a monastery. She spent her old age at the convent where she was raised.
St. Matilda’s relics rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on Notre Dame's campus, and she is also depicted in the stained glass windows of the Basilica. Our featured image of a larger window Matilda holds a scepter and coins as a sign of her generosity to the poor. A second window, shown above, depicts Matilda in prayer with her two sons conspiring in envy behind her. St. Matilda is the patron saint of widows and a patron saint and intercessor for parents who have conflicts with their grown children.
St. Matilda, patron saint of widows and kind queen who cared for the poor despite ridicule from your own children—pray for us!