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
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
How often do we get caught up in conforming to this age? Advertising and social media bombard us with messages that tell us what we should want, what is necessary to be happy and successful. And we tend to agree. So off we go, chasing after that image of happiness the world creates, asking the Lord to bless what we have decided is pleasing and perfect.
Think for a moment about everything you have – What do you have that you haven’t been given? I hear your pushback: “What do you mean? Nobody has given me anything. I work hard and have earned everything I have.”
Have you ever embarked on a new venture? Maybe it involved a move across the country to start a new job, or resigning a corporate position to start your own company. At this time of year, many young people are going away to college for the first time. In most cases, we start out with great excitement. But after a short while, the strong winds of challenges and obstacles arise, causing us to become frightened. The initial excitement gets replaced by fear and doubt.
Do you ever worry that what you give just won’t be enough to make a difference? The Apostles surely had that same concern. In Matthew 14:15-20, they must have worried, “Will it be enough? How can 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish possibly feed thousands?”