Last week I spoke to the Serra Club and asked, as I always do, “How blessed are you?” And so, I ask you, what are some of the blessings in your life? What is God’s greatest blessing? For me, it is forgiveness; God’s mercy which I do not deserve!
Matthew gives us a great example of God’s mercy and forgiveness in Chapter18 where the master is calling a servant’s loan which he cannot repay. He begs for his master’s patience, and incredibly, the master forgives him the loan.
But then, the servant, in turn, does not forgive a neighbor’s debt. When the master learns of this, he summons this wicked servant and turns him over to the torturers. Jesus tells us the same fate awaits us if we do not forgive. Ouch!
Old Testament wisdom teaches this same principle, “Forgive your neighbor’s injustice; then when you pray, your own sins will be forgiven.” (Sir 38:2) After all, is it reasonable to think that I can ask for forgiveness from God, but not be forgiving of others? And why not be forgiving? As disciples, we should always be striving to be like Him. Whenever we forgive, we are being like Him.
Psalm 103 expresses this so beautifully. The Lord is kind and merciful. He is slow to anger, abounding in mercy. He pardons all our sins. He puts them away from us as far as the east is from the west. Truly, how blessed are we? What do we do in response?
We do not forget all His benefits and blessings. We return praise and gratitude to the Lord. We respond to His love with mercy, compassion, and generosity to our neighbors. Think about it, have you ever regretted being forgiving or generous?
“At the end of our life, we shall be judged by charity.” St. John of the Cross
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