Mt. 18:21-35 the Christian mystery summed up in that one word “Forgiveness”.

'Don't fence me in.'

Mass Homily - Fr, Raymond

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Raymond    
Sent: Sunday, 11 September 2011, 18:42
Subject: Forgiveness

FORGIVENESS

When we speak of forgiveness we imply that there has been an injury done to us, some hurt or harm done to us. Something physical or something mental, some-thing that pains us in one way or another.  In fact, as we are all too well aware, mental pain can be so much worse than any physical pain.

However, the pain that we cause ourselves by our own resentment and unwillingness to forgive is far greater and deeper than any injury that comes from outside us.  It can be a cancer that eats into our hearts, and its pain is all the greater for being self inflicted.  We can, to some extent, evade the blows of an enemy, but we can never escape the torture we inflict on ourselves in this kind of way.

The only escape for us is by forgiveness, in fact the whole of the Christian mystery is summed up in that one word “Forgiveness”.   “Forgiveness” is almost what defines us as Christians. It is how we measure up to Jesus on the cross saying:  “Father forgiven them for they know not what they do”.

Life is mostly a matter of relationships and when we are unforgiving we weaken a relationsip, we distance ourselves from someone.  When we forgive, we heal that relationship we come nearer to that person again.   Someone who had died to us is brought back to life for us.

Through estrangement someone was cut out of our lives and we became the poorer for it. Through forgiveness that someone is brought back into our lives and we are enriched again.

These are so many considerations to help us to forgive when we are hurt in some way.  But Jesus gives us another, and perhaps more compelling, reason for being ready to  forgive:

He reminds us that we are all sinners and are all in need of God’s forgiveness and if we are unwilling to forgive those who trespass against us then God will be unwilling to forgive us our trespasses.  And how great are our sins against God when compared to the sins of our brother against us.