“Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” We pray these words each time that we pray the Our Father at Mass and during our own personal prayer time. We know the words, but do we grasp the significance of what we’re praying? In essence, we’re asking God to use the same standard of forgiveness towards us as we use towards others who ask for our forgiveness.
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Read the Gospel reflection by Bishop Parkes below or click here to listen to it.
Forgive Others the Way God Forgives Us
“Peter approached Jesus and asked him, ‘Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive? As many as seven times?” Jesus answered, ‘I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.’” – Matthew 18: 21-22
“Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” We pray these words each time that we pray the Our Father at Mass and during our own personal prayer time. We know the words, but do we grasp the significance of what we’re praying? In essence, we’re asking God to use the same standard of forgiveness towards us as we use towards others who ask for our forgiveness. Do we really mean that? I like to think that I’m a forgiving person, but I know I’m not perfect in that area and it’s something I need to aware of. That’s why those words from the Our Father should catch our attention.
This weekend’s Gospel from St. Matthew talks about forgiveness. We hear about the master who forgave his servant who owed a great debt and was unable to repay. The servant was about to lose everything, but he begged forgiveness from the master who, moved with compassion, forgave the debt. Later, that same servant showed no compassion toward a fellow servant who owed him much less. The master found out about this and handed him over to the torturers until he satisfied his debt.
Jesus used this example to show us that God the Father is compassionate, merciful, slow to anger and quick to forgive. But we must be open to His mercy and mirror that mercy and forgiveness in our own lives towards others. If God is infinitely merciful with us, shouldn’t we also be forgiving with our family members, coworkers, neighbors or even a stranger? And not just to say the words, “I forgive you”, but to really mean it “from your heart” as the Gospel says.
Are you still holding on to a grudge or situation that happened weeks, years or even decades ago? Is there someone who you’ve been unable to forgive? While someone may never ask for forgiveness for the way they hurt you, that doesn’t prevent us from forgiving them from the heart. Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
Perdonar a los demás como Dios nos perdona a nosotros
"Pedro se acercó a Jesús y le preguntó: «Señor, si mi hermano me ofende, ¿cuántas veces tengo que perdonarlo? ¿Hasta siete veces?» Jesús le contestó: «No sólo hasta siete, sino hasta setenta veces siete”. - Mateo 18, 21-22
"Perdona nuestras ofensas como nosotros perdonamos a los que nos ofenden". Con estas palabras rezamos el Padrenuestro en la Misa y en nuestro tiempo de oración personal. Conocemos las palabras, ¿pero comprendemos el significado de lo que estamos rezando? En realidad, le pedimos a Dios que use el mismo estándar para perdonarnos, que el que usamos para perdonar a los demás. ¿Lo digo en serio? Me gusta pensar que soy una persona que perdona, pero sé que no soy perfecto en esa área y debo estar consciente de ello. Por eso esas palabras del Padrenuestro deberían llamar nuestra atención.
El Evangelio de san Mateo de este fin de semana habla del perdón. Se trata de un rey que perdonó a su servidor, que tenía una gran deuda y no podía pagarla. El servidor estaba a punto de perderlo todo, pero pidió perdón al rey que, movido por la compasión, le perdonó la deuda. Más tarde, ese mismo servidor no mostró ninguna compasión hacia un compañero que le debía mucho menos. El rey se enteró de esto y lo entregó a los verdugos hasta que pagó su deuda.
Jesús usó este ejemplo para mostrarnos que Dios Padre es compasivo, misericordioso, lento para la ira y grande en misericordia. Pero debemos estar abiertos a su misericordia, y reflejar esa misericordia y ese perdón en nuestra propia vida en nuestro trato con los demás. Si Dios es infinitamente misericordioso con nosotros, ¿no deberíamos también perdonar a nuestros familiares, compañeros de trabajo, vecinos o incluso a los desconocidos? Y no sólo de palabra, "te perdono", sino "de corazón", como dice el Evangelio.
¿Sigues aferrado a un rencor o a una situación que ocurrió hace semanas, años o incluso décadas? ¿Hay alguien a quien no has podido perdonar? Aunque alguien nunca pida perdón por la forma en que te hirió, eso no impide que le perdonemos de corazón. Perdona nuestras ofensas como nosotros perdonamos a los que nos ofenden.
Reflection by:
Most Reverend Gregory L. Parkes is the fifth Bishop of St. Petersburg. Prior to his appointment to the Diocese of St. Petersburg, Bishop Parkes served as the fifth Bishop of the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee from 2012-2016. He was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Orlando on June 26, 1999. Before answering the call to the priesthood, Bishop Parkes worked for several years in Tampa’s banking industry.
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