Daily Catholic Lectio
Thu, 14 August ‘25
Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time, Thursday
Joshua 3:7-10, 11, 13-17. Matthew 18:21–19:1
Not Seven Times
After Moses’ death, under Joshua’s leadership, the people of Israel finally enter the Promised Land. Just as they once crossed the Red Sea on dry ground, so now they cross the Jordan River without getting their feet wet. But the way it happens is different: Moses had struck the sea with his staff; here, the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant step into the water, and the river parts. God’s saving power is the same, but the instruments and gestures are different.
In the Gospel, Jesus continues His teaching on life in the community. Forgiveness is presented as one of its essential marks. Because we have received forgiveness from God, we are bound to forgive one another. This passage in Matthew (chapter 18) — unique to this Gospel — begins with Peter’s question:
“Lord, if my brother sins against me, how many times must I forgive him?”
We might answer: It depends on the seriousness of the wrong. For small offences — like taking a pencil — forgiveness is easy. But what if someone steals our most valuable possessions? Our instinct is to measure forgiveness according to the size of the injury, the damage it causes, or the character of the offender.
Jesus, however, refuses such calculations. Without hesitation and without conditions, He replies: “Not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” Then He tells a parable: a servant forgiven an enormous debt by his king refuses to forgive a fellow servant a small sum.
Lessons from the Parable
(a) Forgiveness must move downward. We often find it easier to forgive those above us, because we may still gain something from them. A teacher might forgive a principal who wronged him, but may struggle to forgive a student or colleague with no power to benefit him. Jesus teaches that forgiveness must flow especially toward those “below” us.
(b) Forgiveness should mirror the mercy we have received. The first servant received unimaginable compassion from the king. That mercy should have moved him to treat others the same way. If we believe others are obliged to forgive us, but we are not obliged to forgive them, we have misunderstood grace.
(c) God’s mercy and justice are both real. The same king who forgave also later punished. Compassion flows from love; righteous anger flows from justice. God’s love toward us must lead us to act lovingly toward others, lest our injustice awaken His righteous judgment.
Forgiveness as a Sign of Maturity
Forgiveness is not weakness; it is spiritual maturity. In the first reading, the priests carrying the Ark step into the Jordan and the waters stop, leaving dry ground for the people to cross. Forgiveness works in a similar way: it dries the tears on another’s cheek, making a safe path for them to walk forward.
God is the One who made dry ground appear for His people. When we forgive, we too become instruments of God, turning the flooded ground of hurt into a firm place where reconciliation can happen.
We are most like God when we make dry ground appear — in hearts, in relationships, and in the lives of those who have wronged us.
Memorial of Saint Maximilian Maria Kolbe
Today we also honour Saint Maximilian Maria Kolbe (1894–1941), a Polish Conventual Franciscan priest, missionary, and martyr of charity. In the Nazi concentration camp of Auschwitz, he offered his life in exchange for another prisoner, embodying Jesus’ words: “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13).
His life reflects today’s Gospel in the most radical way — forgiving without limit, loving without measure. Like the servant who had been forgiven much, St. Maximilian knew he had received boundless mercy from God, and he poured that mercy into acts of self-giving love. In a world often ruled by hatred and revenge, his witness invites us to forgive generously, to love courageously, and to see even our enemies through the eyes of Christ.
Fr. Yesu Karunanidhi
Archdiocese of Madurai
Missionary of Mercy
Yesu Karunanidhi 
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