Forgive, and you shall be forgiven.

There is probably not a person among us who has not had an angry person in his life. Even as children, we may have had that experience. A friend or classmate got mad at us. He avoided us and maybe didn’t want to talk to us at all. How many of us have had this experience repeated to us later on. Perhaps even just today, we came to the temple with a heavy heart for our neighbor.

But beware! Jesus is speaking to us today: “Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” (Lk 6:37b).
Jesus says very plainly in his discourse, “Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” But this forgiveness is not just so that one can also be forgiven at the end of one’s life.

It is said that a group of theologians once met in England and discussed for hours how Christianity is actually (if at all) different from other religions, what of Christian doctrine has no parallel in other religions… They could not find an answer, until finally, belatedly, the well-known thinker C. S. Lewis and to the question without hesitation said: “That’s easy. The forgiveness of sins.” But not only the forgiveness of sins by God, but also the forgiveness of trespasses among people with one another. Even unintentional injuries need to be forgiven.

Forgive one another, for it is hard to live in tension with the feeling of forgiveness. I am sure you will agree with me that a person who cannot forgive is in a way a slave to the other person. When we carry forgiveness within us, we cannot concentrate on anything; we are nervous, literally impossible. We try to avoid the other person and wish him no good. Well. Certainly not. So let’s try, at this moment, to imagine a person whom we cannot forgive. Who we cannot bear and who, if he did anything, would get on our nerves. Let us imagine him and bless him in our minds. Let us often bless him in our minds and pray for him. Let us pray for forgiveness.
Because forgiveness is a miraculous disappearing act that makes everything that has happened go away, the pain may remain, the inability to meet the person will remain as well, but to wish the other well, to pray for him, to bless him, to try to love him – all of these points to forgiveness.

It is unfortunate when, in a family, parents and children or siblings do not speak to each other. Therefore, today, let us remember that we have only been together on this earth for a few years. Maybe just a few more days and we will never be able to say to each other: “Please forgive me.”

Therefore, let us ask for strength and courage at this Mass – that we may always be able to forgive the other as soon as possible.