“You will pay for it”!

Coffee With God

11 August 2022

Reflection: Matthew 18: 21 - 19:1 Jesus gives us a catechesis about the unity of brothers and sisters and ends it with a promise: "I assure you that if two of you on earth will agree and ask for a grace, it will be granted to you." Unity, friendship and peace among brothers and sisters attract the kindness and providence of God. But it is not always easy to be in unity with people around us. There are disagreements and quarrels. And Peter asks, "What should we do with the people that offend us? If my brother offends me, how many times will I have to forgive him? Seven times?" And Jesus answered with an idiom, "Seventy times seven," which meant, “always.” You must always forgive. Our selfish heart is always attached to hatred, revenge, and resentment. We have all seen families destroyed by hate. Hatred is passed on from one generation to the next. We have seen siblings who, in front of the coffin of their parents, refuse to greet each other because they carry on old grudges. The devil succeeds in making us believe that nurturing hatred is a symbol of being strong and to love and forgive is an act of weakness. The devil always occupies himself among our grudges and destroys everything. It succeeds in keeping us away from the Lord who celebrates our repentance and forgets all our wrong-doings. When God forgives us, he forgets all the evil we have done. God loses the memory of the awful stories of so many of our sins. He asks of us only one thing: "Do the same: learn to forgive." Have you ever said to anyone: "You will pay for it". This word is neither Christian nor human. The generosity of Jesus teaches us that to enter heaven, we must forgive. Remember the Lord raising this question: "When you go to Mass, and you remember that your brother has something against you, reconcile first; don't come to me with love for me in one hand and hate for your brother in the other." May the Lord teach us this wisdom of forgiveness that is not easy. And let us do one thing: when we go to confession, to receive the sacrament of reconciliation, let us first ask ourselves, "Do I forgive?" If I feel that I do not forgive, do not pretend to ask forgiveness because I will not be forgiven. Asking for forgiveness is forgiving. They both go together. They can't be separated.