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Pastor’s Letter: September 17, 2023

The September 17 bulletin is available online. 

Dear friend,

As Catholics, we call the Scripture “a living Word” because the truth of revelation speaks anew to us each time we encounter it. Whether spoken or read, the Bible offers us the truth of God that offers guidance on our journey to heaven. God, as a good father, desires to communicate Himself to us. God wants us to know Him as He knows us. That is the point and the power of prayer. Prayer builds our relationship with God. As Catholic Christians, we view the four Gospels with special importance because they contain the words of Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and carries Divine Authority, but the Gospels offer us direct clarity on God’s thoughts through the ministry of God’s Son. This is the reason we stand at Mass when the Gospel reading is read to the community. The understanding of the power of God’s word is evident to the Apostles as they questioned Jesus. The Gospel reading this weekend from Matthew describes Peter approaching Jesus to ask a question that many of us have spiritually asked at one time or another. “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive?”

Forgiveness is one of the biggest topics in the Bible because sin is a part of every human life. We have all sinned and we have all been sinned against. Understandably, we usually have an easier time asking God to forgive us than we have in forgiving others or even forgiving ourselves. Peter understands this. The same challenges we all have with forgiveness is behind the question posed to Jesus. As with all of Jesus’ responses, He doesn’t just give an answer but gives a story that tells many answers that can strike us in different ways at different times. Put simply, Jesus says if you beg for forgiveness, and get forgiven, we are obligated to forgive..