Because repentance shows love, humility, and reconciliation. We know we have wronged God, and out of our love for Him, we wish to ‘make things right’. But as humans, we don’t have the ability to heal that relationship on our own accord - God gives us His grace so that we might reconcile to Him.
From what I understand, it takes two to forgive. One to do the forgiving, and one to do what is necessary for the forgiver to forgive. Repentance is what is necessary to be forgiven. As Jesus said:
Bowing down before the Lord is something we might literally do one day when we see Him face-to-face. Bowing down before him now is something we figuratively can do every day. When people say we bow before the Lord, what they are doing is using the word bow as a figure of speech for worshiping and obeying. To bow down is to worship (through prayer, the Sacraments, etc.) and obey (by doing what the Lord and the Church reveals to you that you should do).
Mumbles
marlap2
spockratesFrom what I understand, it takes two to forgive. One to do the forgiving, and one to do what is necessary for the forgiver to forgive. Repentance is what is necessary to be forgiven. As Jesus said:
“If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.”
(Luke 17:3-4)
In other words, if someone wants your forgiveness, they should repent. If you want someone to forgive you, you should repent. But you don’t have to try to repent once, and then give up if you fail. You keep trying, and keep repenting, and the forgiver keeps forgiving. It’s a process, rather than a one-time event. The Lord would have us keep forgiving those who keep trying, and have us keep trying so that others might keep forgiving us. That’s how we forgive others, and (it seems to me) that’s how the Lord forgives us. That’s why we should repent–so that we are able to forgive one another.
Bowing down before the Lord is something we might literally do one day when we see Him face-to-face. Bowing down before him now is something we figuratively can do every day. When people say we bow before the Lord, what they are doing is using the word bow as a figure of speech for worshiping and obeying. To bow down is to worship (through prayer, the Sacraments, etc.) and obey (by doing what the Lord and the Church reveals to you that you should do).
Hope that answers your questions, but let me know if you have follow-up questions.
DPM:
Excellent questions!
spockratesDPM:
Good questions, those! Sorry for not responding till now. While it is true that He does not say to not forgive a person who does not repent, it is also true He does not say to forgive a person who does not repent!
I’d say we cannot know for certain (from these words alone) either way. That being said, I wonder why He’d say, “If he repents…” at all. Don’t you wonder the same? I mean, why mention repenting if we are to forgive even those who don’t repent?
jochoa
I appreciate that you recognize my intentions of referring unto our Lord, and I will attempt to correct the lack of definition.
jochoa
Agreed! Thank you very much for the enjoyable and educational discussion!
Good questions, those! I suppose the answer depends on what you mean by the word forgive. You see, it seems to me that there are three ways to forgive:
Good questions, those! I suppose the answer depends on what you mean by the word forgive. You see, it seems to me that there are three ways to forgive:
*]Forgive with your thoughts and feelings
*]Forgive with your words
*]Forgive with your actions
So my answer to your question is this (and please let me know where I err, if anywhere):
A. I should forgive in the sense of (1) even if the person does not ask for forgiveness. Rather than feel anger and a desire for revenge, I should forgive by feeling peace and a desire for goodwill toward the one I forgive.
B. I should forgive in the sense of (2) by telling the person I forgive him when he asks to be forgiven.
C. I can forgive in the sense of (3) by pardoning the person, not holding him liable for his sins any longer, and even restoring a relationship with that person. But I should only forgive a person to this extent if he (a) was truly ignorant of the wrong he had committed, or (b) if the wrong he had committed was minor enough for me to overlook, or (c) if he was aware what he did was wrong, and the wrong was not a minor one, and he sincerely repented of that wrong.
So let’s say the person asks me to forgive him, and I tell him I do, and then he asks me to remove the consequences for his sin that I have imposed. I ask him if he admits he was wrong and promises to try to never do it again. He tells me he did no wrong, and will do it again if the opportunity arises. I’d say that he leaves me no choice but to forgive him only in the sense of (A) and (B) but to withhold forgiveness in the sense of (C). What do you say?
Well, one might say that all, without exception (which means even those now in Hell) were potentially forgiven, but not all (for example, those now in Hell) were actually forgiven. That is, they were never actually forgiven in the sense of (3), for they never allowed their potential forgiveness to become actual forgiveness. But they were actually forgiven in the sense of (1), for God never holds a grudge against, nor desires revenge against, anyone. As far as (2) goes, God says that all are forgiven, but I suppose he means that all are potentially forgiven, though not actually so, insofar as (3) is concerned.