Arockia Aro

23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time Scripture Readings: Ezekiel 33:7–9 | Romans 13:8–10 | Matthew 18:15–20 Central Theme: The courage to speak, listen, and repair relationships before silence turns small wounds into deep divisions. The Dangerous Crack My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, There is a story told about a monastery that had a large water tank supplying all their needs. One day, a small crack appeared in the side of the tank. At first, nobody paid much attention to it. It seemed insignificant, just a tiny blemish. Later, one of the senior fathers noticed it and immediately went to the person in charge, urging them: "Please, repair it as soon as possible. If we leave it like this, the crack will get bigger, and eventually, the whole tank may break." The repair was done just in time. When the area around the crack was opened up, the repairman said, "You did this at exactly the right moment. If you had waited any longer, the entire tank would have been destroyed....

24th Sunday in Ordinary Time Scripture Readings: Sirach 27:30—28:7 | Romans 14:7–9 | Matthew 18:21–35 Central Theme: Finding freedom from the poison of anger by recognizing God’s ownership of our lives and embracing radical forgiveness, inspired by the saints. The Price of a Grudge My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, Have you ever noticed that carrying a grudge is a lot like paying rent for someone who isn't even living in your head? It is exhausting. Today's scriptures address the heavy emotional baggage we all carry. Sirach warns us that anger and wrath are hateful things, and when we refuse to forgive, we are like a person who tries to send a package using an invalid tracking number. We are getting nowhere fast. In the Gospel, Peter tries to be generous. He asks, "Lord, how often must I forgive my brother when he sins against me? As many as seven times?" In Jewish culture, three times was considered ample. Seven times was saintly. But Jesus completely shatters ...