First ReadingSirach 27:30–28:7

Anger and wrath, these also are abominations, and the sinful man will possess them.

He that takes vengeance will suffer vengeance from the Lord, and he will firmly establish his sins. Forgive your neighbor the wrong he has done, and then your sins will be pardoned when you pray. Does a man harbor anger against another, and yet seek for healing from the Lord? Does he have no mercy toward a man like himself, and yet pray for his own sins? If he himself, being flesh, maintains wrath, will he then seek forgiveness from God? Who will make expiation for his sins? Remember the end of your life, and cease from enmity, remember destruction and death, and be true to the commandments. Remember the commandments, and do not be angry with your neighbor; remember the covenant of the Most High, and overlook ignorance.

Responsorial PsalmPsalm 103:1-2, 3-4, 9-10, 11-12

℟The Lord is kind and merciful, slow to anger, and rich in compassion.

Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless his holy name!

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits,

℟The Lord is kind and merciful, slow to anger, and rich in compassion.

Who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases,

Who redeems your life from the Pit, who crowns you with mercy and compassion,

℟The Lord is kind and merciful, slow to anger, and rich in compassion.

He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger for ever.

He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.

℟The Lord is kind and merciful, slow to anger, and rich in compassion.

For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward those who fear him;

As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.

℟The Lord is kind and merciful, slow to anger, and rich in compassion.

Second ReadingRomans 14:7-9

None of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.

AlleluiaJohn 13:34

℟Alleluia!

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 

℟Alleluia!

GospelMatthew 18:21-35

Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.”

“Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began the reckoning, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents; and as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ And out of pity for him the lord of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. But that same servant, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred de­ narii; and seizing him by the throat he said, ‘Pay what you owe.’ So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ He refused and went and put him in prison till he should pay the debt. When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their lord all that had taken place. Then his lord summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me; and should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ And in anger his lord delivered him to the jailers, till he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”