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Luke 17:4

if he wrongs you seven times in one day and returns to you seven times saying, 'I am sorry,' you should forgive him."

My son used to do the same wrong thing over and over again. It drove me completely nuts! He would mess up and apologize, and I would say "it's ok try harder next time", over and over and over. Until I finally got fed up with his actions and told him to stop apologizing and show me he was sorry by modifying his behavior. Until one day I was sitting in Mass and this passage from Luke was our Gospel. The priest mentioned people going to confession for the same sin over and over again, and God giving them forgiveness every time. If God can do it, he said, why can't we? Wow, that was a 2X4 right to the head. Here I was consumed with my own sin and seeking God's forgiveness while refusing to give that same forgiveness to my own son. We all need to do better and stop committing the same sin over and over again. But God has promised never to withhold His grace from us. We are called to do the same for those around us. The coolest thing about forgiveness is the more you give away, the more you get.  

Luke 17:4

if he wrongs you seven times in one day and returns to you seven times saying, 'I am sorry,' you should forgive him."

My son used to do the same wrong thing over and over again. It drove me completely nuts! He would mess up and apologize, and I would say "it's ok try harder next time", over and over and over. Until I finally got fed up with his actions and told him to stop apologizing and show me he was sorry by modifying his behavior. Until one day I was sitting in Mass and this passage from Luke was our Gospel. The priest mentioned people going to confession for the same sin over and over again, and God giving them forgiveness every time. If God can do it, he said, why can't we? Wow, that was a 2X4 right to the head. Here I was consumed with my own sin and seeking God's forgiveness while refusing to give that same forgiveness to my own son. We all need to do better and stop committing the same sin over and over again. But God has promised never to withhold His grace from us. We are called to do the same for those around us. The coolest thing about forgiveness is the more you give away, the more you get.