God forgives those who forgive others.
The first reading threatens us with judgment, if we seek vengeance; it states, “The vengeful will suffer the Lord’s vengeance, for He remembers their sins in detail. Forgive your neighbor’s injustice; and then when you pray, your own sins will be forgiven.”
In the Gospel, St. Peter wondered, “How many times we must forgive others”. He was familiar with rabbis, who stated that a person should forgive, up to three times, but should not forgive the fourth time. Peter thought that if he asked to forgive up to 7 times, he would outdo the Rabbis. He thought, that to forgive 7 times, was something very great. However, Jesus replies, No; not seven, but seventy seven times! Our Lord meant a limitless number of times. Since God is infinitely merciful, we must forgive without limit and so imitate God’s mercy and compassion for us.
Ten years ago today, a terrible tragedy gripped the nation on Sept. 11th. Who could forget the horror of the evil as nearly 3,000 people died from the terrorist attacks? On that day, no one in their right mind could say there is no sin or no evil. The ugliness of evil and horror of sin was revealed when the twin towers collapsed after planes crashed into them. Our nation went through a period of mourning, but also anger and then many opened their hearts to God asking Him why? And when we came to realize the why--- was because of evil, we had to forgive.
Because of Sept.11th, we all had to come to grips with forgiveness and for many it took time and prayer to forgive. Forgiveness is sometimes very difficult. Many wanted Bin Laden to be killed and die a horrible death, for what he did to so many innocent people. We found ourselves becoming angry at Muslims.
On this 10th anniversary, Pope Benedict sent a message to the people of the United States. He said, "On this day my thoughts turn to the somber events of September 11, 2001, when so many innocent lives were lost in the brutal assault on the twin towers of the World Trade Center and the further attacks in Washington D.C. and Pennsylvania."I join you in commending the thousands of victims to the infinite mercy of Almighty God and in asking our heavenly Father to continue to console those who mourn the loss of loved ones."He said, "The American people are to be commended for the courage and generosity that they showed in the rescue operations and for their resilience in moving forward with hope and confidence." The pope recalling what he called the "brutal assault" on the United States, said: "The tragedy of that day is compounded by the perpetrators' claim to be acting in God's name."
The pope recognized that many have forgiven and he commends those who have, yet he spoke against those who claimed to be acting in God’s name. The men who flew the planes into the buildings at New York, Washington and Pennsylvania were cowards, they chose to do evil and they did in the name of God. They hid behind a loving God, to do their evil and wicked deed.
Sept. 11th is a reminder that there is evil, there is sin and there is hell. Most importantly, there is hell. How can anyone say that those who freely do evil and who die unrepentant, would go to heaven. Not judging those who did the heinous crime, because only God can do so. Sometimes what is lacking is the full understanding of what one does. One can think they understand something and yet be completely and terribly wrong when they do the action.
What is frightening for us, is if we refuse to forgive someone, God will not forgive us. Its hard to hear the words of Jesus in the Lord’s Prayer as we pray, “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.” Our forgiveness from God is therefore, dependent upon those whom we forgive. If we do not forgive those who hurt us, we will not receive God’s forgiveness. If we are Christian, we must forgive, because forgiveness is an act of love andwe must love our enemies.
The late Pope John Paul II said, “Just as the Lord is always ready to forgive us, so we must always be ready to forgive one another. And how great is the need for forgiveness in our world today—indeed in our communities and families, in our very own hearts! That is why the special sacrament of the Church for forgiveness, the Sacrament of Penance, is such a precious gift from the Lord. In the Sacrament of Penance, God extends His forgiveness to us in a very personal way. Through the ministry of the priest, we come to our loving Savior with the burden of our sins. We confess that we have sinned against God and our neighbor. We manifest our sorrow and ask for pardon from the Lord. Then, through the priest, we hear Christ say, to us: “Your sins are forgiven; Go and do not sin again”.Can we not also hear Him say to us-- as we are filled with His saving grace: “Extend to others seventy times seven, this same forgiveness and mercy.”
The words of Pope John Paul II remind us, to seek the Lord’s mercy through Confession. Monthly confession makes it easier for us to forgive. The more often we are forgiven by God, the easier it is for us to forgive.
There are several things we need to know about forgiveness. First, there is a difference between forgiveness and feelings of un-forgiveness. If we choose to forgive and if we pray for the person, who has hurt us, we have forgiven. But because we are human and because we have feelings, the feelings and thoughts of un-forgiveness can haunt us. But if we make that act of the will to forgive, by saying “Jesus I forgive.” Even if these thoughts continue, we have forgiven.
There are times, when it’s difficult to forgive especially if we or someone we love has been hurt grievously. At these times, we have to ask Jesus to help us forgive. We say what’s in our heart, “Lord Jesus, I have difficulty forgiving, please Lord help me to forgive.”
When it’s difficult to forgive, rather than mulling over the thought, over and over, we have to make an excuse for those who hurt us. Jesus looked down at the men, who nailed His hands and feet on the Cross and said, “Father, forgive them. For they know not what they do.”These words of excuse, teach us to do the same.
Often times, people act without fully reflecting and say and do things, they later regret. They acted out of emotion, or anger and we have to look at their humanness and realize, they truly did not know what they were doing at the time.
It’s possible someone may have a severe headache, or maybe they just lost a loved one or maybe they have gone through a difficult time at home, and so they react to us in a hurtful way, because they themselves are hurting.
And for those who act with seemingly full intent, such as those who killed thousands of innocent people, we have to say “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Most of these men were raised in a culture in which they were taught to hate. Their ancestors bought into the twisted teachings of Muhammad and they ignorantly followed the mastermind of the plot believing they were doing God’s will. This shows the importance of helping Muslims and all non-Christians to come to know and love Jesus. That He is loving and compassionate and He is the way, the truth and the life.
Therefore, today, let us examine our hearts. Is there anyone we need to forgive? And if so, we should ask Our Lady, the Blessed Virgin Mary, for a forgiving heart, like Her Heart. She will help us to pray for those, who hurt us; help us to avoid brooding over our injuries; Not returning evil for evil; give us the understanding, that they knew not what they were doing; She will draw us to Her Son’s font of mercy in the sacrament of Confession; And ask Her Son to help us to forgive, as we have been forgiven.