September 13, 2026

 

Who Am I to Judge?

​

Last Sunday, Jesus taught us about fraternal correction: “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault.” This reminds us that Christian love does not mean pretending that right and wrong do not exist. Sometimes love requires us to speak the truth—but always with humility, compassion, and the desire to help rather than condemn.

Pope Francis’ well-known words, “Who am I to judge?” do not mean that Christians should never recognize sinful or harmful behavior. Rather, we are not to judge another person with a condemnatory heart. Jesus Himself showed us the difference. When the woman caught in adultery was brought before Him, He did not condemn her, but neither did He pretend that nothing was wrong. He said, “Go, and from now on do not sin anymore.”

This Sunday, Jesus takes us one step further—from correction to forgiveness. Peter asks Jesus, “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive?” Notice that Peter calls the person who hurt him “my brother.” The person who has offended us is still a brother or sister, still a child of God.

Peter thinks forgiving seven times would be generous. Jesus responds, “Not seven times but seventy-seven times.” In other words: do not keep count.

Jesus then tells the parable of a servant who owes his king an enormous debt—so enormous that he could never possibly repay it. Yet the king, moved with compassion, forgives everything. But when that same servant encounters someone who owes him a much smaller amount, he refuses to show the mercy he himself received.

We forgive because we have first been forgiven. Forgiveness does not mean that what happened was acceptable. It does not mean forgetting the hurt or allowing someone to continue harming us. Forgiveness means refusing to let resentment, anger, or revenge control our hearts.

Sirach warns us in the First Reading: “Wrath and anger are hateful things, yet the sinner hugs them tight.” Sometimes that is exactly what we do. We hold tightly to old wounds, replay conversations, remember insults, and carry grudges long after the other person may have forgotten what happened.

But every time we pray the Our Father, we say: “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.” We are asking God to make His mercy visible in the way we treat one another.

Christian forgiveness is not easy, especially when the wound is deep. Sometimes forgiveness begins with something very small: simply praying for the person who hurt us. We may not yet be able to forget. We may not even feel ready to forgive completely. But we can begin by saying, “Lord, help me to forgive.”

God has shown us a mercy greater than we could ever deserve. The challenge of the Gospel is to let that same mercy flow through us to others. Forgiveness may take time, and the hurt may not disappear overnight, but we can always begin by asking God for the grace to let go. The more we learn to forgive, the more we allow God to heal our hearts and set us free.