Two-Minute Homily by Fr Leo Burke for the Twenty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time 2023.
“I think it’s true to say two of the hardest things to say in the world is number one, I’m sorry and number two, I forgive you.”
- Two-Minute Homily Transcript
Two-Minute Homily Transcript
Author: Archdiocese of Brisbane
Folks the gospel for this Sunday from Matthew’s gospel. Talks about the importance of forgiveness. You’d have heard in the gospel where Christ said, you just forgive somebody not even 77 times. I think it’s true to say two of the hardest things to say in the world is number one, I’m sorry and number two, I forgive you. Neither of those things is easy to say because we all find it hard to admit that we are at fault, it’s part of being human. But also the other part of it, it can be very hard at times to say, I forgive you. And we need to be careful because even sometimes when we’ve done something wrong and we go to the person and say, I’m sorry we can’t necessarily expect them straight away to turn around and say, I forgive you. Sometimes people need to process that. So be careful about that because while the two things are hard to say, the one doesn’t really mean the other necessarily.So reflect on that, when we say the Lord’s Prayer, forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. I think oftentimes we don’t really listen to those words and what it means in a personal basis. So it’s important then for a peaceful society and particularly within a family and perhaps even more particularly between a husband and a wife. That that forgiveness and I’m sorry be part and parcel of the couple’s process in life.
So think about that, reflect on the Sunday readings the first reading too has a lot to say about it, as is always the case. But forgiveness and I’m sorry are part and parcel of being human but a really important part of peaceful relationships in our time and society.