A Thankful Heart Forgives

                                                         by Sr. Catherine Marie Michael

“… forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who
                trespass against us…” (Matt6:12)



​Many saints like St. Maria Goretti, St. Monica, St. Patrick, and Pope St. John Paul II
suffered and forgave others imitating Jesus Christ who forgave on the Cross. Upon our
own journeys, if we are to become more like Jesus and share in His Resurrection, we
will experience suffering in this fallen world and have occasion to offer forgiveness. I’ve
heard it explained with a question: “how can we expect to be forgiven if we do not
forgive”? Motivated mainly by wanting to be forgiven, I think to myself that I had better
learn to forgive. Should forgiveness, however, be contingent upon my receiving some
benefit? Does forgiving as Jesus forgives, require something more?
 
Jesus, upon the Cross, forgives out of love and mercy. He is God made man in order to
redeem us from our sins that keep us apart from God’s goodness. In Christ who
divinizes, we might love without limits, without contingencies. Forgiveness is then an act
of love, offering those who trespass against us, God’s compassion, and mercy. In other
words, for us sinners who are in need of mercy, forgiveness expresses thankfulness for
God’s mercy, and further, the desire for all to receive His abundant, healing mercy and
love.

Many of us, when acknowledging our hurt or brokenness, might not yet feel ready to
forgive if the hurt continues, or we might bear a grudge out of bitterness or spite. It’s
important to notice that Jesus teaches us to forgive in the context of knowing God
as our Father. If we are secure in our conviction that we are sons and daughters of
God, our strength and confidence come through the Son who reveals the Truth, all that
we need for our salvation, not from worldly pride that stems from a false notion that we
can be self-sufficient gods without God (CCC 398, see Luke 15:31-32). Concerned with
being close to the Son, adhering to His commands, giving thanks for His Eucharistic
presence which divinizes and makes us His handiwork (Eph 2:10), and living with the
certainty of His Kingdom, we are no longer obsessed with our perceived place in this
world. We can then walk humbly with God (Micah 6:8) and with the help of the Holy
Spirit, show compassion and pray for those who do not understand what they are doing
(Luke 23:34, Matt 5:44), those who, in insecurity, become captive and conformed to this
passing world (Rom 12:2).

Christ, on the other hand, teaches us to walk upon the heights (Hab 3:19) as we journey
towards becoming saints and what God intended for us. In a way then, forgiveness can
affirm our intention to let go and not be conformed to the world, and to thankfully live in
Christ. We might then have the grace to forgive seventy times seven times (Matt 18:22).


CCC= Catechism of the Catholic Church

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