Sep 13 Sun
Should I forgive offenses?
Having been forgiven a huge debt, the wicked servant did not forgive the little debt of a co-worker. Christ tells us that we must always forgive those who sin against us. If we do not, then our heavenly Father will not forgive our sins until we “pay back the whole debt” we owe him; a payback that, in the words of the parable, will be a tortured imprisonment.
“Strictly speaking, no one will deny him the right to demand what was his. Nevertheless, there is something inside us that rebels and tells us that his intolerant attitude was very far from real justice. It is not right that a person who only a moment previously has been treated with mercy and understanding, should not then react with at least a little patience towards his own debtor."
When we sin against God or a fellow human being, God is not hurt, but that fellow human being is hurt (and perhaps many others), and we are damaged. God wants us to repair that hurt. God also wants us to become more like him: good and generous.
Here is the amazing good news: “For this reason, at every time and in every place, God draws close to man. He calls man to seek him, to know him, to love him with all his strength. He calls together all men, scattered and divided by sin, into the unity of his family, the Church. To accomplish this, when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son as Redeemer and Savior. In his Son and through him, he invites men to become, in the Holy Spirit, his adopted children and thus heirs of his blessed life.”
“The glory of God consists in the realization of this manifestation and communication of his goodness, for which the world was created.” Thus, God’s creatures, through their very being, glorify God.
And more, for God’s rational creatures, God created us “to be his sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace.”
So, “The ultimate purpose of creation is that God, ‘who is the creator of all things, may at last become ‘all in all,’ thus simultaneously assuring his own glory and our beatitude.’”
If God manifests his glory by sharing his goodness with all of creation, and with us, then we can greatly benefit from meditating on this truth. So, a first practical application is that we can take to our MENTAL PRAYER the truths drawn above from the Gospel, often made explicit in the Catechism.
A second application is to respond to God in wonder and THANKSGIVING for all He has given us.
A third application is to determine to cooperate with God’s plan for us.
Moreover, He wants us fully alive, in possession of eternal happiness. On our part, our baby steps are found in our grace-inspired and grace-assisted efforts to put sin behind us and begin to do only good. This is our CONVERSION or transformation in Christ.
Conversion includes repentance, a good confession, and beginning that process of real personal growth again: Remember, it is never too late to become the person you should have been.