blessed are the merciful, and only the merciful, for they alone shall obtain mercy.
The Gospel parable is Our Lord's answer to Peter, who had just asked: " Lord, how often shall I forgive my brother his offences against me? Seven times? " Our Lord answered: " I say to thee not seven times, but seventy times seven times." We read that the just man falls seven times a day; if you remember, there are seven deadly sins; and seven out of the ten commandments treat of man's duty to man; and for one or all of these reasons Peter saw fit to make seven pardons the limit of forbearance. But Our Lord had previously said: " Be ye merciful, as your heavenly Father is merciful," and as the mercy of God is infinite, therefore He now teaches Peter, and through Peter He teaches us, to know in pardoning neither measure nor number. This lesson, I repeat, is meant for us, for Our Lord speaks not to Peter the priest, but to Peter the man; He defines Peter's duty not as the minister of the Sacrament of Penance, but as the Christian in the ups and downs of daily life. For, in his question, Peter had spoken of offences against himself; whereas, the priest in the confessional deals with offences against God; and Our Lord, in His answer, inculcates unconditional forgiveness, which, for the priest in the confessional, is oftentimes impossible. To the individual, to each individual Christian, is directed this precept of love and forgiveness.
Christ having answered Peter proceeds, accord-
