Guest Post by: David Tonaszuck
Reflection on the Gospel of Matthew 18:21-35
Dear Brothers and sisters in Christ,
A man once decided to volunteer at a hospital. His work was simple: he visited patients who had no family or friends coming to see them. On his first day, he entered one room after another, sitting beside people he had only just met. He listened to their stories, held trembling hands, prayed with those who welcomed prayer, and offered encouragement to those who felt forgotten.
He spent the entire day with strangers. Yet by evening, they were no longer strangers. Their gratitude—the relieved smile, the quiet “thank you,” the light returning to a lonely face—was more than enough to bring him back the next day, and the next.
Whenever he left a room, he tried to leave something of Jesus behind: the light and love of Christ flowing from his heart into the heart of the person he had visited. He would offer a smile and a word of hope. Then he would say, “I love you as Jesus loves you.”
That man understood the words of Saint Paul: “None of us lives for oneself.” Our lives are not meant to be closed circles. We belong to Christ, and because we belong to Christ, we belong to one another.
Christ’s Radical Call to Forgive
In today’s Gospel, Peter asks Jesus how often he must forgive someone who sins against him. “As many as seven times?” Peter probably thinks he is being generous. But Jesus answers, “Not seven times but seventy-seven times.” Jesus is not asking Peter to keep a careful tally. He is telling him to stop counting.
Then Jesus tells the story of a servant whose enormous debt is forgiven. The servant receives mercy beyond anything he could earn or repay. Yet when he meets a fellow servant who owes him far less, he refuses to show the mercy he has just received.
That is the tragedy of the parable: grace reaches the servant, but it does not pass through him.
We can fall into the same trap. We ask God to forgive us, but hold tightly to another person’s offense. We receive compassion, yet become impatient with another person’s weakness. We approach the Eucharist and receive the Body of Christ, yet sometimes refuse to recognize Christ in the person beside us.
Jesus calls us to something deeper. “Love one another as I have loved you.” He does not say, “Love one another when it is easy,” or “Forgive when the other person deserves it.” He asks us to love as he loves—with mercy, patience, sacrifice, and truth.
Saint Teresa of Calcutta said, “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.” The hospital volunteer did not cure every illness or remove every sorrow. He simply entered a room, remained with someone who was lonely, and loved that person in Christ. Small acts offered with great love can become vessels of God’s mercy.
How do we learn to love this way?
We begin with prayer. In prayer, we let God soften what resentment has hardened. We name before him those whom we struggle to forgive. We may not feel ready, but we can pray, “Lord, I cannot forgive by my strength alone. Give me your heart.” Forgiveness does not mean pretending that evil was acceptable. It means surrendering vengeance to God and refusing to let another person’s sin rule our soul.
We are also strengthened through the sacraments. In Reconciliation, we kneel like the servant before the king and admit a debt we cannot repay. God does not humiliate us. He meets us with mercy and sets us free. Having received such mercy, how can we deny mercy to another?
Above all, we come to the Eucharist. Here Jesus gives us not merely an example of love, but love itself—his Body given and his Blood poured out. At this altar, Christ teaches us that love means self-gift. We receive him so that we may become more like him: broken open for others, willing to serve, ready to forgive.
Then prayer and sacrament must lead us into service. There are people all around us waiting for someone to notice them: a hospital patient, a grieving neighbor, a difficult relative, an exhausted caregiver, a person who sits alone, or someone carrying a wound no one else can see. Love may begin with a visit, a phone call, a meal, an apology, or the decision to listen without rushing away.
Ask the Holy Spirit to Help You Forgive
The Holy Spirit opens our eyes to recognize Christ in these people. Without the Spirit, we may see only an inconvenience, an offense, or a stranger. With the Spirit, we begin to see a brother or sister for whom Jesus gave his life. We learn to say—not only with our lips but through our actions—“I love you as Jesus loves you.”
None of us lives for oneself. The mercy we receive is meant to pass through us. The love poured into our hearts is meant to reach another heart.
So let us give thanks, praise, and glory to the LORD our God, who has loved us beyond measure. Let us thank the Father for sending his Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Let us thank Jesus for forgiving our debt and feeding us with his own life. And let us thank the Holy Spirit, who remains with us always, teaching us to recognize Christ in one another and giving us the strength to love as Christ has loved us.
May we leave every person with more hope than we found them, carrying the light of Jesus from heart to heart. Amen.
About Our Guest Blogger
Saint Carlo Acutis once said, “Not me, but God.” His words echo deeply in my own spiritual life. This blog is not about me, but about the work of the Holy Spirit. I choose to remain anonymous because the voice behind these reflections isn’t what matters — the One speaking through them is.
I am a lifelong Catholic with a deep love for Scripture, the sacraments, and the quiet ways God speaks through everyday life. Live the Eucharist was born from my desire to share how the Gospel and the Eucharist shape not just my Sundays, but every step of the journey.
My hope is that these reflections bless you, challenge you, and draw you closer to Jesus — truly present in the Eucharist and profoundly present in your daily life.
