Monday of the Second Week of Lent (March 9, 2009)
When Jesus taught us how to pray the “Our Father” in step #8, we understood that when we said the words “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us,” we were telling the Father that in order to ask Him for forgiveness, we would be willing to forgive first. Now that we are faced with the challenge that in order to continue our journey and encounter Jesus in the resurrection, we must forgive our enemies, we realize that it is easier said than done.
Jesus tells us “forgive and you will be forgiven.” Does that mean that if we don’t forgive, He will not forgive us? I don’t believe so. I believe that Jesus forgives us no matter what, however, we will never be truly happy unless we learn to forgive. That is why Jesus is so persistent. He wants us to be happy. He knows that unless we learn to forgive, we are going to live a miserable life. As long as we are carrying so much hatred and resentment within our hearts, we are hurting only ourselves. We need to get rid of all those feelings that are poisoning our heart.
Jesus is not asking us to forget what the other person did to us. He is not even asking us to deny that what that person did was wrong. He is just asking us to try to see Jesus in the other person. Yes, the other person is not perfect, but neither are we. Yes, the other person hurt me, but carrying resentment towards that person does not make that person suffer, it only hurts me. Jesus loves that person as much as He loves me and until we can see Jesus in that person, we will not be able to fully encounter Him.
Grab Mary by the hand and talk to Her about one person you are having an awful time forgiving. Tell Her how much you hurt. Ask Her to help you see Jesus in that person. You may not be able to accomplish this in one day, but hopefully, you will be able to do it by Easter. That is why we have Lent.
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