Forgiveness is a gift and once we experience this gift, we are then able to give it away

Today at Holy Mass we hear in the Gospel of St Matthew about a conversation that took lace between Jesus and St Peter……The conversation was started as a result of a question that St Peter asked Jesus….“Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him?”…..Jesus then proceeds to address the question with a parable…..In the parable Jesus says the following….”That is why the Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who decided to settle accounts with his servants. When he began the accounting, a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount”…For the purposes of this reflection, let’s focus on that statement……Only God can forgive our sins…and frankly that is the only thing God wants from us - Our sins - Jesus is God, he does not need anything from us - Not our money, not our service, not our time…While we should give to God freely of what was given to us out of love - God surely does not need what we have….But he does want our sins and we have the ability to give them to him in and through the Sacrament of Reconciliation……Jesus also stated in his parable that a “huge amount” of “debt” was owed to the king…..Let’s think about that for a moment….God the Father offered up is beloved son, who was flawless for the sins of the world…..Step back and think about that for a second…..Jesus was the perfect sacrifice and God in his love gave him up for sins of mankind…Now think about all the sins of mankind, the horrible injustices, the unspeakable acts, the crimes against humanity that scream for vengeance!…God, who is a Father gave up his flawless son for all of it…That is the “huge debt” spoken about in this parable and there is no way it could ever be payed back!……This is why God asks of us to forgive others….Jesus teaches us this by example from the Cross….“Father, forgive them, they know not what they do”….Because of the “huge debt” humanity owes to God, a debt that can never be paid back - We must learn to forgive “our brother from your heart”….And this can only be accomplished with God’s grace….Some crimes committed against us are beyond our human strength to forgive…..But with God all things are possible and when we forgive our brother, most especially when the crimes committed against us were unjust and in the eyes of the world unforgivable - When we do what the unbelieving world deems “foolish”…We proclaim the message of the Gospel in a way words never can or could - And in turn we just may “win over” our brother, who will see something in you that was for a time unseen - That “something” is the life of Christ himself….To forgive is divine and the world finds the divine through those who find it in their heart to forgive

“Your ways, O LORD, make known to me; teach me your paths, Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my savior”

Our world today does not know how to forgive because it has not experienced forgiveness in a personal way…Let’s face it, working and earning a living is a not easy…The “world” does not give anything away - To forgive others is a “foreign idea” to the power brokers of this world…This is why many find it impossible to believe that God can forgive us through the Sacrament of Reconciliation…But for those who lived lives outside of the Church and then came to their senses like the Prodigal son and returned “home”…These “prodigal people”, of which I am one, understand what it means to be forgiven - And the experience is life changing!…..When a person confesses their sins to a Catholic priest, this is a very real and tangible encounter with the living God…The unbelieving world does not and frankly cannot understand this until they experience it for themselves….So many people in our world today are carrying around huge burdens…Sins committed and sinful lifestyles take there toll on people - We can rationalize sin away all we want - It does not go away! - Until it is confessed Sacramentally…And unconfessed sin in many ways deforms people…..This is why people “change” from the people we once knew when we were young - Bad choices made and sins committed in adulthood steal from us - Only God can return us back to childlike innocence………Years ago I was flying for business to the California and ran into a good friend of mine from high school…Paul was always a great guy and I heard through mutual friends that he was discerning to become a Catholic Deacon…When I saw Paul at the airport, he was exactly the same guy I knew in high school…The same big smile - The same light in his eyes…..Paul had not changed one bit….At the time I was a practicing Catholic and I had seen many of my “old friends” make bad choices in adulthood and as a result, the joy of our youth was taken from them in a very real and tangible way…But not Paul….Paul was the same - Why? - Because Paul lived sacramentally - The life of Jesus Christ shined through him - It was obvious when I saw him after all those years….Only God can gives us this joy and only God can return us to the innocence of our youth…Do not let the world rob us of what is rightfully ours - Take back what is yours - Go to Confession and be made new!

“Even now, says the LORD, return to me with your whole heart; for I am gracious and merciful”

Today in the Gospel at Mass, Jesus teaches St Peter about what it means to forgive….Forgiving someone is not easy, let’s face it…But when we live a life of grace, and God animates our life - What seems impossible can become possible……And when we regularly confess our own sins Sacramentally and feel the deep peace given to us by God himself as a result - This experience makes it easier to forgive others…..We can not learn how to forgive others by reading a book - We must first experience it for ourself….And when we do, we can then give what was given to us……”His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son.’ But his father ordered his servants, ‘Quickly bring the finest robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Take the fattened calf and slaughter it. Then let us celebrate with a feast, because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost, and has been found.’ Then the celebration began”….All of humanity has fallen and that means all of us need to be forgiven…..Only God through the one Church he founded can give the world what it desperately needs…..”I absolve you of your sins - In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit” - “Go in peace, your sins are forgiven”…..You can’t “fake it” nor can you self manufacture God’s forgiveness….Forgiveness is a gift and once we experience this gift, we are then able to give it away………………………….JMJ