“Forgiveness is not some churchy technique or formula. Forgiveness is a constant from God’s side, which should become a calm, joyous certainty on our side. Mercy received will be mercy passed on and will not return to me empty until it has succeeded in what it was sent to do.”
Forgive us our debts as we forgive others…If you forgive the faults of others, your heavenly Father will forgive yours. If you do not forgive others, neither can your heavenly Father forgive yours. Matthew 6:12, 14-15.
Prayer: “Good God, keep me forever inside of your abundant and generous flow of mercy, toward me, through me, in me, and from me.”
Richard Rohr, Wondrous Encounters: Scriptures for Lent (Cincinnati: SAMP, 2010) 30.
I don’t know about you, but when I feel I am wrongly wounded by someone, my proclivity is to defend myself and prove that I am right. God forgive me. I am learning from Jesus this Lent as I meditate in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) along with modern day saints, that the measure of mercy and forgiveness I extend to others is the measure that will be extended to me. Gulp! Often I pray, “Lord have mercy.” And today I feel led to pray a new centering prayer, “Lord help me show your mercy.” That’s the part Jesus asks of me. What is He asking of you?