From the Pastor: Rev. Anacleto S. Asebias, Jr.
24rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
September 13, 2026
Matthew 18:21-35
Dear Ascension Family,
Blessings of good health! I hope that everything is well and safe in your family. The favorite theme of most action movies is revenge. The hero has to avenge the death of a loved one. The bad guys have to pay. Of course, once our desire for vengeance is satisfied, our opponent reacts in turn by getting even with us at the first opportunity. Thus, a spiral of retaliations is initiated and the violence can only go on escalating. The gospel reading today shows us how to break that vicious cycle even before it gets started: through forgiveness.
The parable in the gospel reading tells us that God freely forgives us. He is always willing and ready to forgive. And he forgives without limit, without condition, without hesitation. This explained the number 7. Seven signifies fullness, completeness. It is a perfect number for the Jewish people. So when Peter suggested to forgive a sinner seven times, he was thinking that he was fulfilling more than the Law required when it comes to forgiveness.
But Jesus answered him, seventy-seven times. He was telling Peter to forgive without limit because God’s forgiveness is without limit, without measure, and without end. What we forgive others is not comparison to what God has already forgiven us. We must forgive because God has forgiven us, not only once but also seventy-seven times. And if a person does not forgive his brother or sister from the heart, he or she will not receive forgiveness from the Father either.
Forgiveness clears a path for God to forgive us. The only obstacle we can put in the way of God’s forgiveness of our sins is our inability to forgive the sins of others. In other words, the key to forgiveness is the realization that we ourselves have been forgiven incomparably more by God our Father. We all need forgiveness. People who cannot forgive break down the bridge over which they themselves must pass.
Even from a human point of view, forgiveness makes great sense. If we hold on to our grudges and resentments, we entertain negative emotions and negative thoughts. These thoughts poison our lives as surely as strychnine poisons the body. A simple example can help us understand what happens when we refuse to forgive. Leave a small amount of tomato juice in an open can for several days. Then observe how the acid in the juice has eroded the metal of the can. Similarly, when we don't forgive, the feelings we keep in our hearts are like this acid - they eat away at us. Bitterness poison mostly the one who harbors it in his or her heart. Generally, the hated person does not even know how bitter is the animosity leveled against him or her. By commanding us to forgive, Jesus wants us to feel the peace that comes from forgiving and escape the misery that comes from feeling hatred and revenge.
But the highest reason of all why we should forgive is that it makes us Godlike. God forgives those who have no right to be forgiven. He forgives his haters. Christ was abandoned. The Innocent One was accused falsely and condemned. His holy body was violated by whips, nails, spear. He was mocked, maligned, tortured. And he forgave. He is God, and he has the power to make us like God.
However, it is not good enough to forgive in word. We must forgive, as the gospel reading says, “from the heart.” Forgiving from the heart is really only possible with God’s help. It is only God who can change our heart. It is only in relationship with God that we can begin to move from resentment to forgiveness. As we grow in our appreciation of the mercy that God has shown us and continues to show us through his Son, we will find it more and more difficult to withhold from others what we have been generously given.
God bless us all!
Praying for you all,
Fr. Anacleto
