GOSPEL:  Matthew 18:21-35
Then Peter went up to him and said, 'Lord, how often must I forgive my brother if he wrongs me? As often as seven times?'

Jesus answered, 'Not seven, I tell you, but seventy-seven times. 'And so the kingdom of Heaven may be compared to a king who decided to settle his accounts with his servants. When the reckoning began, they brought him a man who owed ten thousand talents; he had no means of paying, so his master gave orders that he should be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions, to meet the debt. At this, the servant threw himself down at his master's feet, with the words, "Be patient with me and I will pay the whole sum." And the servant's master felt so sorry for him that he let him go and cancelled the debt. Now as this servant went out, he happened to meet a fellow-servant who owed him one hundred denarii; and he seized him by the throat and began to throttle him, saying, "Pay what you owe me." His fellow-servant fell at his feet and appealed to him, saying, "Be patient with me and I will pay you." But the other would not agree; on the contrary, he had him thrown into prison till he should pay the debt. His fellow-servants were deeply distressed when they saw what had happened, and they went to their master and reported the whole affair to him. Then the master sent for the man and said to him, "You wicked servant, I cancelled all that debt of yours when you appealed to me. Were you not bound, then, to have pity on your fellow-servant just as I had pity on you?" And in his anger the master handed him over to the torturers till he should pay all his debt. And that is how my heavenly Father will deal with you unless you each forgive your brother from your heart.'

REFLECTION
This week we have another challenging Gospel. Peter comes to Jesus and bluntly asks him how many times he needs to forgive another, be that his brother, his sister, friend or co-worker. Peter asks if he should forgive the other person seven times?  I wonder if Peter had a family member, a spouse, or a friend whom he had wounded multiple times. Or was Peter simply asking the question because he wanted to hear how Jesus would answer it?

As often is the case, Jesus does not answer Peter’s question directly. Rather Jesus bluntly tells Peter that he should forgive the other person, not just seven times, but 77 times. That is a lot of forgiveness! It is easier to forgive another if the hurt or insult is minor. However, when a person has been betrayed or slandered us, we may find it more difficult to forgive the individual. This is understandable because our trust has been betrayed.

Was Peter surprised by Jesus’ answer? Was Peter thinking of a family member or friend that he needed to forgive or was he remembering someone he had hurt or wounded? Was Peter hoping that, at some point, he would be forgiven?

Hopefully, over time, we will forgive the person who wounded us and, in this process, we will free ourselves also of the heavy burden we have been carrying. Lack of forgiveness usually has more effect on us than on the individual we need to forgive. Resentment and anger poison us. True, it is not easy to let go of our anger and hurt. If we can place our anger, hurt, and resentment into God’s hands, God will heal us. It may take a long time.

The grace is Jesus does not expect us to deal with these hurts and resentments alone. Jesus walks with us, encourages us, and gives us the grace to let go and to forgive those who have hurt us. We have to be patient with this process and we need to keep coming back to Jesus and asking him to help us forgive. Jesus wants us to ask him to free us of this burden, this pain. Jesus is with us and He will answer our prayers! 

Today may we place all our burdens, our anger, and our pain in Jesus’ hands. This will lighten our loads immensely and will free us also. Will we, do we, trust Jesus? (Sr Kristine Anne Harpenau)

FRUIT AND VEG MONTH 2020
Our school is participating in Fruit & Veg Month 2020. This year’s theme is ‘Planet Fruit & Veg’, because eating more fruit and veg is good for us and the planet. This week we are looking at how to ‘up the fruit and veg’ at your place – for yourselves and the planet.

Where possible, choose locally grown (e.g. grown in your city, town or region) and in season fruit and vegetables. They will taste better, be more nutritious, are more likely to cost less and will reduce the environmental impacts of food transport and cold storage. Take a look at the resource included in this week's newsletter for tips on how to go local and in season.  

Read the resource and answer the survey questions to go into the running for a $20 shopping voucher.

If you require more information on what activities our school is doing for Fruit & Veg Month, please contact the school or your child’s teacher.

God Bless,
Warren Ziebowski
Religious Education Coordinator