Holyrood Church 715 West 179 Street, Upper West side Manhattan, USA, 212-923-3770

We can only receive forgiveness if we are able to give it to others.

 

Reading: Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”  Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. Matthew 18:21-22.

 

Good morning, happy Thursday, and many blessings my dear family.

 

The theme of forgiveness continues in today’s Gospel reading (Matthew 18:21–19:1).  Peter is not shy!  He asks Jesus how many times he “needs” to forgive, how many times he “should” forgive.  Only Peter would have the courage to ask Jesus this question!

 

We all think like Peter at times.  Do we ask Jesus this very same question?  At some point in our lives, all of us have had painful experiences at the hands of another. Forgiving that person is not easy, especially when we have been hurt deeply! However, we always have the time to change our minds and our hearts by asking Jesus to give us the grace to want to forgive.  This is a first step.  When we are able to even try to forgive another, it may not only free them but most likely it also will free us!

 

Forgiveness is always a complicated process that needs time and thought. Yet it is an obligation that Jesus considers essential for his followers, and he never misses an opportunity to stress its importance. Here he is telling Peter, and us, that there is no limit to how many times we ought to forgive. I pray for a forgiving heart, I pray for those I find difficult to forgive, for those who find it difficult to forgive me. I pray in gratitude for my own experience of forgiveness, whether given or received.

 

This parable reminds us that we can only receive forgiveness if we are able to give it to others. The heart that reasons only in terms of rights and wrongs, that is deaf to the calls of mercy, is a heart that does not understand forgiveness when it is offered. That is why so often we find it difficult to forgive ourselves. Lord Jesus, make my heart like unto yours.

 

We do not expect God to forgive us once or twice or any limited number of times but every time. It isn’t written that we have, for example, only 10 chances of going to confession and once our quota is used up, there is nothing left. If that is true of our relationship with God, it also has to be true in our relationships with others. We should always strive to never refuse an offer of reconciliation. As I reflect on this gospel today is there someone I need to be reconciled with? Bring this relationship to Jesus in this time of prayer.

 

Do I think of myself as needing divine forgiveness? If I don’t, is it because I am using human standards rather than divine ones? I am meant to love God and my neighbor with my whole heart and soul, but how compassionate am I to those who need my help? Is my life made over to God, or am I a drifter? Am I known as generous and forgiving?

 

Jesus points out that forgiveness knows no limit. The inability to forgive those who have offended us can be corrosive and the harboring of hurts destructive. Are there people you can’t forgive? If so, devote time to pray for the ability to do so, and linger over the phrase in the ‘Our Father’: ‘forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors’. (Matthew 6:12).

 

Blessings,

 

Fr. Luis+

Date news: 
Thursday, August 12, 2021 - 21:30

Ministry at the time of Coronavirus (Covid 19): Prevent, cure and accompany

Now we have to shape what some have started calling; The Church at Home. Although I keep asking myself; What do those who do not have a home do? For this reason, at the same time, I am declaring today in our Holyrood Church a Lenten day of prayer, fasting and reading the Bible in the Time of the Coronavirus.

facebook youtube instagram mail zelle