REFLECTION OF THE WORD OF GOD. 24th, Sunday in Ordinary Time

“Forgive us, as we forgive those who trespass against us”

Most of us have experienced how difficult it is to forgive. It is almost impossible. Who can forget the wound? Who does not see and feel the wounds and keep the memory alive? The parable of the Gospel questions us and invites us to take a stand, either we are the ones who forgive or the ones who are forgiven.

Personal offenses generally start a chain of reactions: “You did this to me, I respond by taking it out to you or on someone else who is below me”; and in the long run, this situation affects and disintegrates the community. The only way to break this chain is to recognize that we ourselves need forgiveness, that we need others to live and grow; avoiding at all costs to take it out on those who are not to blame for our problems. So, if we receive mercy, we must also act with mercy.

Fr. Tarcisio