Practical steps to help you forgive sins against you.

"Moved with compassion the master of that servant let him go and forgave him the loan." (Matthew 18: 27).

Sunday 13th September 2020, 24th Week in Ordinary Time.

God self-revelation to Moses is:  I am a God of mercy and compassion.  Be holy as I am holy. If we receive mercy from God, we must show mercy to others. It is not okay to say that it difficult to forgive. Sirach in the first Reading today portrays a divine quid pro quo when it comes to forgiving our neighbor. "Forgive your neighbor the wrong done to you; then when you pray, your own sins will be forgiven." (Sirach 28: 2).

Notice the punch in Sirach: "A sinner like yourself."
"Can one refuse mercy to a sinner like oneself, yet seek pardon for one’s own sins?" (Sirach 28: 4).

Jesus says the same in today's Gospel.
"I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to.  Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?" (Matthew 18: 32 - 33).

I have struggled with the question of forgiveness. Below is what has helped me:

#1 Forgive the offense immediately. Everywhere, always, for everything, for everyone without discrimination.
#2 Pray blessings on the offender morning and evening. Continue to pray for the offender until you are healed of the hurt.
#3 Ask God to grant the grace to everyone you have offended to forgive you and set you free. I have practiced #1 and #2 for years before it occurred to me that there are people out there that I have offended.
#4 If you do not read the word of God regularly, you will never understand anything about God's mercy and will find it difficult to forgive.

Our Responsorial Psalm 103 for today is on the mercy of God.

"The Lord is kind and merciful, slow to anger, and rich in compassion.
Bless the Lord, O my soul;
and all my being, bless his holy name.
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits.
He pardons all your iniquities,
heals all your ills.
He redeems your life from destruction, crowns you with kindness and compassion."

Daily Bible Verse @ Seekfirstcommunity.com