⚔️Last Sunday, we ardently desired the heavenly homeland, but it will not be easy for us to reach it. The Gospel speaks to us of the responsibility for the accounts we must render at the final judgment. The Epistle shows us the struggle: temptations from the enemy, evil days. We must be armed for combat. An example encourages us: the patient Job, who, despite his life led in the fear of God, was severely tempted but obtained through his perseverance both temporal and eternal happiness. Faith and trust in God will make us triumph in the struggles of this life.
📖Epistle (Eph 6:10-17)
Brethren: Be strengthened in the Lord, and in the might of his power. Put you on the armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the deceits of the devil. For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood; but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places. Therefore take unto you the armour of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and to stand in all things perfect. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of justice, and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace: In all things taking the shield of faith, wherewith you may be able to extinguish all the fiery darts of the most wicked one. And take unto you the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit (which is the word of God).
✝️Gospel (Mt 18:23-35)
At that time: Jesus spoke this parable to his disciples: The kingdom of heaven is likened to a king, who would take an account of his servants. And when he had begun to take the account, one was brought to him, that owed him ten thousand talents. And as he had not wherewith to pay it, his lord commanded that he should be sold, and his wife and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. But that servant falling down, besought him, saying: Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And the lord of that servant being moved with pity, let him go and forgave him the debt. But when that servant was gone out, he found one of his fellowservants that owed him an hundred pence: and laying hold of him, he throttled him, saying: Pay what thou owest. And his fellowservant 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. Now his fellowservants seeing what was done, were very much grieved, and they came and told their lord all that was done. Then his lord called him; and saith to him: Thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all the debt, because thou besoughtest me: shouldst not thou then have had compassion also on thy fellowservant, even as I had compassion on thee? And his lord was angry, and delivered him to the torturers, until he paid all the debt. So also shall my heavenly Father do to you, if you forgive not every one his brother from your hearts.
🤔Reflections
🙏The liturgy of this Sunday masterfully juxtaposes the reality of spiritual combat with the fundamental requirement of mercy. In the Epistle, St. Paul exhorts us to put on the "armour of God" to fight not against "flesh and blood," but against the spiritual forces of evil. However, the Gospel shows us that one of the most decisive battles takes place within our own hearts: the struggle between gratitude for mercy received and the pettiness of a heart that refuses to forgive. The servant who owes ten thousand talents represents each of us before God; our debt is unpayable, incurred by original sin and our personal sins. The king's mercy is the pure grace of God, manifested in the sacrifice of Christ. Yet, by refusing to forgive the insignificant debt of our brother—a hundred pence—we reveal that we have not understood the magnitude of the forgiveness we received. The true spiritual battle, therefore, is not only external, against demons, but internal, against the "wicked servant" who dwells within us, the one who forgets grace and clings to his own small justice.
🕊️St. Augustine, commenting on the Lord's Prayer, deepens this truth by directly linking the forgiveness we ask of God with the forgiveness we grant to others. He teaches that when we pray "forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us," we make a pact with God. "When you say this, you commit yourself, you sign a contract, an agreement, a convention. The Lord your God says to you: 'Forgive, and I will forgive you. You have not forgiven? You yourself turn against yourself. You will not be the one accused, but you will have condemned yourself.'" (St. Augustine, Sermon 56). The Gospel parable is the dramatization of this pact. The servant begs for mercy and receives it, but by failing to extend that same mercy, he nullifies the pardon granted to him. The Catechism of the Catholic Church reinforces this doctrine by stating that "the flood of mercy cannot penetrate our hearts as long as we have not forgiven those who have trespassed against us. Forgiveness is a fundamental condition of Reconciliation" (CCC 2844). Thus, a lack of forgiveness is not only a sin against our neighbor but a deliberate blockage of God's grace in our own lives.
🛡️It is here that the Epistle and the Gospel unite inseparably. The "breastplate of justice" is not only the pursuit of personal holiness but the practice of divine justice, which is mercy. The "shield of faith" protects us from the "fiery darts of the most wicked one," which are often thoughts of resentment, bitterness, and vengeance, whispers that tell us we have the "right" not to forgive. The "sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God," is the weapon that cuts through our pride, reminding us of Christ's Word: "Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful" (Lk 6:36). Therefore, forgiving from the heart is not an act of weakness but an act of spiritual warfare. It is wielding the weapons of God to defeat the enemy who seeks to imprison us in the same cell into which, by our hardness of heart, we cast our brother. Victory in the Christian life depends on our ability to fight external enemies while simultaneously cultivating a heart that reflects the infinite mercy of the heavenly Father.
See English version of the critical articles here.
