A FORGIVING GOD
“My heavenly Father will also do the same to you if each of you does not forgive from the heart.” – Matthew 18:35
A parish priest carried the burden of a secret sin he committed years
ago. Even though he had confessed, he had no peace. Then a woman in his
parish claimed to converse with God in her visions. He was skeptical,
so to test her, he said, “When you talk to God, ask Him what sin I
committed when I was in the seminary.” The woman returned to the priest
with an answer from God. “He said, ‘I don’t remember,’” she remarked.
I cannot even begin to imagine our heavenly Father as an unforgiving
God. If He possessed even an iota of unforgiveness in His heart,
sinners like me would have disappeared from the face of the earth a long
time ago. But despite my imperfections and wretchedness, I’m still here
— only because of God’s merciful love and forgiveness.
The verse above is a warning for us who refuse to forgive. A
hardened, vengeful heart deprives us of experiencing the forgiveness
that the Lord so generously gives us. When we do not forgive those who
wrong us, we slap God’s outstretched arms that long to embrace us in His
mercy. Undaunted, He pursues us until we come to our senses and fall
into His arms. In that very moment, God erases all our sins and
wrongdoing, and only His perfect love remains. Dina Pecaña (dpecana@yahoo.com)
Reflection: What God forgives, He forgets.
Lord, forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
St. Clare of Assisi, virgin, pray for us.
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