Jesus reminds us that heaven overflows with compassion. In the Lord’s Prayer, we ask for forgiveness, “as we forgive those…” which is the heart of the matter. I once told a priest during confession that I had finally forgiven an uncle who had caused suffering and division in my family through his abuse. I went on to say that while I didn’t wish the man ill, I didn’t care what happened to him. But I’d forgiven him for what he’d done. The priest advised that I still had some work to do on forgiveness. He reminded me that Jesus does not forgive us and leave us on our own. As members of the Church, the Body of Christ on earth, we are called to forgive others with the fullness of mercy and concern for their well-being. Our compassion for others, without judgment, draws them into the Body of Christ by our patience, sincere forgiveness and continued presence in their lives. Forgiveness is not for the faint of heart.
This is a tough one Deborah. Fr. Mike Schmitz says forgiveness and reconciliation are 2 different things. Forgiving is on our part, reconciliation needs both people’s cooperation. I’ve struggled with bad memories and in my mind those memories don’t make me happy. There are also revelations from the past of intentions that I was either too young to understand or just too naive to be aware of at the time that stir up feelings I thought were settled. So forgiveness, I think, is a process of over and over facing hurt feelings, injuries and intentions and turning those over to...
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Vicky, I believe, nails it in her comment. While we are called to, over time, forgive (of course), we are not obligated to keep as a “continued presence in [our] lives” (as suggested by the writer of today’s devotional) those whose actions continue to be negative, harmful or destructive toward us. I like Vicky’s reference to a connection between reconciliation and cooperation; conversely, Deborah seems to overlook the “cooperation” part. If someone continues to wish us ill, we can forgive and pray for the ill-wisher (placing them in God’s hands), while also, most certainly, not wanting their ongoing negative presence to be...
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Thank you for the words of forgiveness I need a lot of work in that please Lord help me with forgiveness in Jesus name I pray Amen Amen Amen
Amen.
Amen.
AMEN!
Thank you, Deborah for the inspiration this morning. Amen for your words, "Forgiveness is not for the faint of heart." What does true forgiveness look like? What does it mean to be totally forgiven? When it comes to forgiveness, I often find myself thinking about the two criminals hanging on the cross with Jesus in between them. One of the criminals asks Jesus to be forgiven and Jesus said, "Today you will live in paradise." Forgiveness really begins with the individual first, then reaches to the second person and eventually the entire community will come together. We gather together to...
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Amen
Amen!
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What does the process of “Forgiveness” should look like? Jesus told us what it should look like in Matthew 18:15-17 ✝️ *** Go tell them what they have done wrong in Matthew 18:15, “If your brother or sister sins against you, go to them. Tell them what they did wrong. Keep it between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them back!” *** And if that didn’t work, take one or two other witnesses to prove your testimony is true in Matthew 18:16, “But what if they won’t listen to you? Then take one or...
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