"Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive ...?" - Matthew 18:21
How many times have we heard it? How many times have we prayed it? "Forgive us... as we forgive..." And how many times, according to Jesus, do we need to forgive? Seventy-seven times!
Scripture scholars suggest that Jesus isn't saying that we stop at three fewer than eighty times, but that we not count at all. Perhaps it would be better to ask how many times we have been forgiven. Countless times for most of us. And we pray, "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." Most of us do not want to be like the servant who once forgiven does not pass the favor on. But sometimes that is what happens. The very thing for which we have been forgiven we hold against others. Only with the grace of God can we break out of that very human tendency. Grace abounds for the asking!
Is there something I am holding against another? Am I willing to ask for the grace to let it go and forgive?
God of love and forgiveness, You have been so gracious in forgiving me. Give me, please, the grace to let go of hurts and offenses. Amen.
Reflection by:
Sr. Cathy Cahill
Did you know...
Sister Cathy Cahill, OSF, is a Franciscan Sister of Allegany who has been ministering in the diocese since 1989, primarily in retreat work and spiritual direction, She is a member of the community at St. Clare Convent in Tampa.
