Archive
Week of 08/24/08
Week of 08/24/08
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"Forgive us our trespasses..." How?
Jesus commanded us to pray the Our Father [Mt 6:9-13].
there are seven—should always cause us to pause and reflect just what it is we
are asking God to do.
“Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”
Jesus, Himself, drew attention to these words specifically when he had concluded
the Our Father, "If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly
Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father
forgive your transgressions." [Mt 6:14-15].
This is an immensely important consideration. If we have not forgiven those who
have offended us, we are literally asking God to condemn us!! God is love. And
love is most perfectly exhibited as mercy. And mercy is what Jesus demands of
us. He is not saying “If you forgive others, their offenses against you, that would
be very nice thing to do.” No! He says, “If you do not forgive others, neither will
your Father forgive your transgressions.”
And who must we forgive? Jesus tells us: “You have heard it said, ‘you shall love
your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray
for those who persecute you.” [Mt 5:43-44]
Why should we forgive others? Let us read what St. Cyril of Jerusalem, preached
in his Catechetical Lectures around the year A.D. 350:
For a discussion of how grievous our sins are, see the article Why is Sin Such a
Big Deal?
In Matthew 18:23-35, Jesus relates the parable of the Unforgiving Servant.
Take a moment to read it. Read it with the understanding that you owe God a
great sum; your neighbor's debt to you is minuscule, by comparison.
Now the hard part...Think of an individual that has offended you more than
anyone else. Do you have him in mind? Now make the following promises to God
considering each one carefully:
If you cannot do this, you must pray for the grace to forgive.
Now, be not afraid. Go and pray the Our Father!
“Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who
trespass against us.”
Jesus commanded us to pray the Our Father [Mt 6:9-13].
- "This is how you are to pray: Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your
kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us this day our
daily bread; and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors; and do not
test subject us to the final test, but deliver us from the evil one.”
there are seven—should always cause us to pause and reflect just what it is we
are asking God to do.
“Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”
Jesus, Himself, drew attention to these words specifically when he had concluded
the Our Father, "If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly
Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father
forgive your transgressions." [Mt 6:14-15].
This is an immensely important consideration. If we have not forgiven those who
have offended us, we are literally asking God to condemn us!! God is love. And
love is most perfectly exhibited as mercy. And mercy is what Jesus demands of
us. He is not saying “If you forgive others, their offenses against you, that would
be very nice thing to do.” No! He says, “If you do not forgive others, neither will
your Father forgive your transgressions.”
And who must we forgive? Jesus tells us: “You have heard it said, ‘you shall love
your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray
for those who persecute you.” [Mt 5:43-44]
Why should we forgive others? Let us read what St. Cyril of Jerusalem, preached
in his Catechetical Lectures around the year A.D. 350:
- “And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors. And we have
many sins; for we offend both in word and in thought, and we do much that is
worthy of condemnation. And, as John says, ‘If we say that we have no sin,
we lie.’ We make a pact with God, entreating him to forgive us our sins, just
as we forgive our neighbors their debts. Considering then, what we receive
and in return for what, let us neither delay nor postpone forgiving one
another. The offenses committed against us are small and trivial and easily
settled. But those which we have committed against God are great and
require a loving-kindness such as is His alone. Beware therefore, lest,
because of small and trivial sins against yourself, you might close off from
yourself God's forgiveness of your most grievous sins."
For a discussion of how grievous our sins are, see the article Why is Sin Such a
Big Deal?
In Matthew 18:23-35, Jesus relates the parable of the Unforgiving Servant.
Take a moment to read it. Read it with the understanding that you owe God a
great sum; your neighbor's debt to you is minuscule, by comparison.
Now the hard part...Think of an individual that has offended you more than
anyone else. Do you have him in mind? Now make the following promises to God
considering each one carefully:
- I forgive this person.
- If I see this person in trouble, I will come to his aid.
- I will not speak ill of this person.
- At his judgment, I will be his advocate; not his accuser.
- I have canceled his debt to me; have mercy on us both.
If you cannot do this, you must pray for the grace to forgive.
Now, be not afraid. Go and pray the Our Father!
“Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who
trespass against us.”
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