Good morning, good people. May the Lord give you peace and health.  

It is 05th  March 2024.  We reflect on Daniel 3:25, 34-43 and Matthew 18:21-35.  

“Asking for forgiveness implies forgiving,” says His Holiness Pope Francis.

Consistency in love is forgiving. 

Forgiveness is the proof of charity.  It is not easy to forgive because our self-centered hearts are always attached to hatred, revenge, and resentment.

The first reading is the prayer of Azariah pleading for God’s mercy on God’s people. Just like the people of Israel, we have no merits of our own but we can gratefully receive mercy.  

Can we forgive others as God forgives us?  

Yes, it is possible for God just because God sees us as God’s children.  When we are willing to see others as brothers and sisters belonging to one human family, it is possible to forgive.  

We receive a surplus measure of forgiveness from God.  So, we have the privilege to forgive.

“And that is how my heavenly Father will deal with you unless you each forgive your brother or sister from your heart.” (Mt. 18:35).  

If we want to go to Heaven, we must forgive.  

God wants us to forgive generously. Our forgiveness needs to be without limit, following the example of God.  We cannot go on living mercilessly treating others and holding grudges against the other when God does not hold an account of our offenses and swiftly forgives us.  

God will ask for an account of our life.  It is not possible to love God on the one hand and hate our brother or sister on the other hand.  

The greatest gift we can ever give to the other is forgiveness. 

 God not only expects but demands us to forgive others.  Uttering sorry verbally is not enough for the pain we have caused, it needs to be seen in our actions.  

We all need to have the spirit of forgiveness as radical as possible in all our relationships with the ones who offend us constantly. 

 May the Lord teach us the wisdom to forgive.

 

Fr. Peter Fernando, OFMCap.
Director, Office of Family Ministry, Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia (AVOSA).Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.♣Website:https://reflectionsofpeter.org/.♣Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/samarpet