Unforgiveness

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I was reading an account of a bishop's life and was reminded about the importance of prayer. Not just prayer at a specific time of day, but prayer throughout the day. The narrative mentioned that he starts his day with an hour or two of prayer.


Particularly, he focused on scripture (and the rosary). I agree that God's Word informs our actions, having found that to be true myself. For instance, we recently heard from the Gospel of Matthew 18:21-35, the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant.

The big picture, or take-away, from this passage and the accompanying reading for the day (Sir 27:30-28:7) is that we must always have before us how God treats us and imitate that in our relationships with our brothers and sisters, strangers and friends.

How will we know what we are to do if we do not know God's Word?

If we feel ourselves holding a grudge against someone, getting angry, desiring vengeance or hosting unforgiveness, and then we read passages such as these, we cannot help but strive to imitate the compassion and mercy of God:

"Forgive your neighbor's injustice; then when you pray, your own sins will be forgiven" and "Could anyone nourish anger against another and expect healing from the Lord?"

Clearly, God's treatment of us, and our treatment of our neighbor, is deeply connected. Knowing this should surely influence our actions toward others.

Janet Cassidy
janetcassidy.com
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