Must we forgive everyone?

[John_Hiner]

“Forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those who trespass against us”

I suspect we need to forgive everyone as we would like to be forgiven.

Laudatur Iesus Christus.

Is the choice ours? In the Lord’s Prayer we are taught to ask for forgiveness. We are then told that this request will not be granted unless we do the same for others. But what does “the same” look like?

Are we able to say: "Well I would like the Lord to forgive me for whatever I do, without my having to repent or ask for forgiveness;” then, if only we let things “roll off our backs” and “forgive” everyone who offends us, whether he is sorry or not, whether he asks or not – in other words if we treat other people as though they have no effect on us – then the Lord will give us *carte blanche *to do as we like and will willy-nilly forgive everything we do, because that is how *we *forgive?

This does not sound right. Jesus is the Master and the Teacher. We should imitate Him, rather than assuming *we *set the terms.

Because the goal is authentic love, repentance and reconciliation are necessary. If we want Jesus’ forgiveness to unite us with Him, then we cannot hope for a sort of forgiveness *from Him *that leaves us indifferent to others, in sin ourselves, and Jesus indifferent to what we do.

Spiritus Sapientiae nobiscum.

John Hiner

 

[jc-servant]

Have I forgiven the man who raped me when I was 16? Why should I? I mean you guys make some great points, and although I attend confession regularly and go to church every sunday, I cannot find it in my heart to forgive him.

It is not about your attacker. It is about you being able to really let go of it and move forward for yourself. It took me about 30 years to forgive and of course I will never forget. What I realized was that I did not want Satan to gain one more soul, not even this horrible man.

I want the fullness of God’s mercy and forgiveness, so I decided that I would have to try harder in my own heart to forgive others. It does not mean that I ever want to speak to this man or see him or even think about him, but now when he comes to mind I don’t have the same awful feelings about myself that used to come up. I can pray for him along with all other lost souls in hopes that they will truly turn to God before it is too late or before they hurt someone else.

 

[pieta05]

I believe that we are called to forgive all who wrong us, but we are not required to forget the wrong or subject ourselves to future abuse.

I believe that forgiveness is more about our relationship with God than our relationship with the person who wronged us. If we are sufficiently focused on God, increasing our holiness and our future with Him in heaven, then why would we not be able or willing to forgive anyone on this little rock that is our very temporary home?

Yes, I agree. If we love God, we grow closer and closer to Him each day. I think we begin to recognize how much He loves the sinner. The pain their actions cause Him is even greater than we can imagine. So, I focus on the pain they cause Him, more than the pain they cause me. I also think of all the pain I myself have caused Him. With time and Gods grace, that makes it much easier to forgive them…even if they do not think they need forgiveness.

 

[BarbaraTherese]

We forgive and try anyway to forget…and we pray for the repentance and salvation of the one or ones who hurt us. The forgiveness of the heart is a journey beginning with forgiving and trying to forget and praying for the other - and as we begin the journey we pray for the forgiveness that is heartfelt

• whether The Lord grants that Grace is His as is the Grace to journey and strive to forgive fully and from the heart…Blessings! Pax!..Barb