THE ART OF FORGIVING

Excerpt from THE SABBATH Fr. Rudy Horst (my best professor in Sacred Scriptures in MOL)

The Bible is a book about God’s compassion and forgiveness — even the Old Testament! For God never changes. He punishes, yes, but with punishment always comes mercy. When Adam and Eve had sinned, God punished, but then He gave them clothes to cover their shame — a symbol of forgiveness. Cain killed his brother Abel. God punished him, but also marked him with a mark of protection so that nobody would kill him in return. When the Israelites disobeyed His commandments, God punished them but called leaders to save them from enemies. And when Jesus died on the cross, He prayed for His torturers, “Father, forgive them!” When God created man He created him “in His image and likeness.” In other words, we are supposed to mirror God, to make Him visible in this world. And when one of God’s strongest characteristics is forgiveness, we understand Jesus’ harsh words in today’s parable against those who are not ready to forgive in small matters when they themselves have enjoyed incredible amounts of God’s forgiveness: “My heavenly Father will treat you the same way if you do not forgive one another from your heart.”In the prayer Jesus taught us, He makes us pray a tricky sentence, “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sinned against us.” This indicates that we expect from God forgiveness only if we forgive others. Divine and human forgiveness go hand in hand.It is understandable that forgiving other is so important in our quest for heaven. For if we have never learned to forgive, our hearts are not tuned in God’s wavelength and so heaven is out for us. And imagine: You would meet in heaven all those you were not ready and able to forgive on earth. This would turn heaven into hell for you. To forgive is not easy, of course. To forgive is an art. The deeper we are hurt the more difficult it is to reach out and say from the heart “I forgive you.” It is a grace we have to pray for.
Reflection Question:What makes it difficult to forgive people? Do I easily give in to the temptation not to forgive?
Let us Pray
Lord, how often You have already forgiven me for my sins! Every time I go to confession I hear the magic words, “I forgive you because I love you.” Lord, it is You who teaches me the art of forgiving. Help me to become a good student!
St.Maximilian Kolbe, priest and martyr, pray for us