14/09/2026
Yesterday’s readings and Gospel speak profoundly about forgiveness.
Peter asked Jesus how many times he should forgive his brother who sins against him—“seven times?” Jesus answered, “not seven times, but seventy times seven.” He then told the parable of the unforgiving servant: a servant whose enormous debt was forgiven by his master, yet who refused to forgive the much smaller debt owed to him by another.
The message is clear: God calls us to forgive one another because He has first forgiven us.
Even in the Lord’s Prayer, we ask: “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.” In asking God for forgiveness, we are also committing ourselves to forgive those who have wronged us.
Thus, if we seek forgiveness, we must also learn to forgive.
Forgiveness does not merely free the person who wronged us. In many ways, it frees the one who forgives even more. To forgive is to refuse to remain imprisoned by anger, resentment, and the desire for vengeance. It is to surrender the burden of the wrong to God and to choose not to allow another person’s wrongdoing to control our hearts.
But forgiveness does not mean condoning the wrong.
To forgive does not mean saying that what happened was acceptable. It does not require us to abandon the pursuit of truth or justice. A person may forgive another and still seek justice where justice is due.
Neither does forgiveness mean that wrongdoing has no consequences. True remorse involves acknowledging the wrong committed, accepting responsibility, and being willing to make restitution and accept the consequences that justice may require.
Forgiveness and justice are not opposites.
Justice seeks to set things right; forgiveness seeks to free the heart from hatred and vengeance. We can forgive the person while still condemning the wrong. We can seek justice without seeking revenge. And we can ask for accountability without withholding mercy.
Perhaps this is what Christ asks of us: not to choose between forgiveness and justice, but to practice both with a heart transformed by the mercy we ourselves have received from God.
For in the end, we are all servants whose great debt has been forgiven.
— Atty. Darwin A. Delatado
