Scripture Focus for SEPTEMBER 17

R./ The Lord is kind and merciful, slow to anger, and rich in compassion. Ps 103:8

How man times do I have to forgive?

Peter talks to Jesus about forgiveness. If a brother does something to hurt him, how many times does he have to forgive him? Seven times? Is that enough? The number seven is Scripture usually means perfect or complete. You can rest on the 7th day like the story of Creation.

Is it just the right amount of forgiveness? Jesus says not seven times but seventy-seven times! We need to keep forgiving. Then Jesus tells a story to help explain what he means. There was a king who needed to settle up what his servants owed him. One servant owed a huge amount and couldn’t pay it back. The master had the right to sell him and his family and everything he owned to get the money back. The servant begs for patience. The master has compassion and lets him go. He forgives his debt!!! The same servant then goes to collect money from someone who owes HIM a much smaller amount. When he asks for patience, the forgiven servant shows no mercy. He put the fellow servant in prison until he pays his debt. Of course, the servants tell the master what he did and how he didn’t have compassion to his fellow servant and forgive him. He didn’t act like the master. Had he learned how to forgive? No. So the master sends him to the torturers. Jesus says that this is what will happen if you don’t forgive your brother from your heart. It’s a terrifying prospect.

When we are unable to forgive a transgression or hurt and let it go, we are tortured. Everyone has experienced it. We can get stuck in the pain or unfairness. This is not a state of peace, joy or happiness. We still seem to choose it when we can’t stop thinking about it. That is why attitude of gratitude can change your life. My latest mantra is “I will focus on the flowers and not the weeds.” There is a time for everything. There is a time to weed the garden. There is a time to plant seeds and flowers. Finding joy in all the stages is possible. There is a time to harvest the flowers and make bouquets. We are entering Fall now. Things will die and fall away to be resurrected in Spring. There is a time to mourn. There is a time to let go. There is a time to experience peace.

Lack of forgiveness is like a prison. If you can’t forgive and let it go, ask the Holy Spirit to help you. You will enjoy freedom. Forgiveness is a gift for both of you! It’s a wonderful habit or virtue to practice and make a way of life.

How big is your heart?

Do you need to forgive someone?

Challenge—follow the daily Mass to hear the whole story with a phone app or get your daily Mass Readings at http://www.usccb.org!