"Forgiveness does for a community what oil does for a motor...It neutralizes friction."

Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa

"Put on, then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, and patience, forbearing one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other..."

"As theLord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive."

Colossians 3:12-13

"I think we too are the people who, on the one hand, want to listen to Jesus,

but, on the other hand, at times...

"...like to find a stick to beat others with, to condemn others. And Jesus

has this message for us: mercy."

"I think - and I say it with humility - that this is the Lord's most powerful

message: mercy." Pope Francis, 3/17/13

A quick reminder of the new "lens":

Making disciples Molding disciples

Missioning disciples

Alpha = making disciples 201 = molding disciples ? = missioning disciples

201 = "growing into Christ." (Pope Francis)

Serious application of Scripture to our lives so that we can begin

to live the life of heaven now

So that we can reach the goal, the omega: become saints

"For this is the will of God: your sanctification" (1 Thessalonians 4:3)

Tonight: the most significant stumbling block for most of us towards sanctification,

towards the goal, towards the omega, towards becoming saints...

forgiveness

Goals tonight: 1. "Put on" God's mind with regards to forgiveness 2. Personal application of Jesus' teaching to our

lives here and now

1. God's mind on the matter: He is rich in mercy!

"Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression...He does not retain His

anger forever because He delights in mercy...You will cast all our sins into the depth of the sea."

Micah 7:18-19

"Bless The Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me bless His

holy name..."

"...Who forgives all your iniquity...who redeems your life from destruction...The

Lord is merciful and gracious..."

"Slow to anger and abounding in mercy...He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our

iniquities."

"For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His

mercy toward those who fear Him"

"As far as the east is from the west so far does He remove our

transgressions from us."Psalm 103: 1, 3, 4, 8, 10-12

"Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who

have need no repentance." Luke 15:7

"Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over

one sinner who repents."Luke 15:10

""Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand and sandals

on his feet; and bring the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and make merry"

"For this, my son, was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.

And they began to make merry."Luke 15:22-24

This is precisely what our Lord revealed to His servant Faustina

"Let the greatest sinners place their trust in My mercy. They have the right before

others to trust in the abyss of My mercy...

"My daughter, write about My mercy towards tormented souls. Souls that make an appeal

to My mercy delight Me. To such souls I grant even more graces than they ask...."

"I cannot punish even the greatest sinner if her makes an appeal to My compassion,

but on the contrary, I justify him in My unfathomable and inscrutable mercy...."

"Write: before I come as a just Judge, I first open wide the door

of My mercy" (Diary, 1146).

"There is no misery that could be a match for My

mercy" (Diary, 1273).

But...there is a catch...

"Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy."

Matthew 5:7

"And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who

trespass against us."Matthew 6:12

"For if you forgive men their trespasses, your Heavenly Father also will forgive you; but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Heavenly Father forgive your trespasses."

Matthew 6:14

Catechism of the Catholic Church on The Lord's Prayer

2838-2845 !

2838This petition is astonishing. If it consisted only of the first phrase, "And forgive us our trespasses," it might have been included, implicitly, in the first three petitions of the Lord's

Prayer, since Christ's sacrifice is "that sins may be forgiven."

But, according to the second phrase, our petition will not be heard unless we have first met a strict

requirement. Our petition looks to the future, but our response must come first, for the two parts are

joined by the single word "as."

2840 Now - and this is daunting - this outpouring of mercy cannot penetrate our hearts as long as we have not

forgiven those who have trespassed against us. Love, like the Body of Christ, is indivisible; we cannot love the God we cannot see if we do not love the brother or sister we do see.

In refusing to forgive our brothers and sisters, our hearts are closed and their hardness makes them

impervious to the Father's merciful love; but in confessing our sins, our hearts are opened to his

grace.

2841 This petition is so important that it is the only one to which the Lord returns and which he develops explicitly in the Sermon on the Mount.This crucial requirement of the covenant mystery

is impossible for man. But "with God all things are possible." !

"Be merciful, even as your Heavenly Father is merciful." Luke 6:36

2842 It is impossible to keep the Lord's commandment by imitating the divine model from

outside; there has to be a vital participation, coming from the depths of the heart, in the holiness and the

mercy and the love of our God.

Only the Spirit by whom we live can make "ours" the same mind that was in Christ Jesus.Then the unity of forgiveness becomes possible and we find ourselves "forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave" us.

2. The lesson on forgiveness from Jesus

"How often do I have to forgive my brother? As many as seven

times?"

"No, [our name here], not seven times; seventy seven times."

"Therefore, the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts

with his servants. When he began the reckoning one was brought to him who owed him 10,000 talents;"

"And, as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had,

and payment to be made. So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, 'Lord, have patience with me

and I will repay you everything.'"

"And out of pity for him The Lord of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. But that same servant, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow servants who owed him 100 denarii; and seizing him

by the throat he said, 'Pay what you owe.'"

"So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, 'Have patience

with me and I will repay you.'

"He refused and went and put him in prison till he should pay the debt. When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to

their lord all that had taken place. Then his lord summoned him and said to him, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt

because you pleaded with me..."

"And should you not have had mercy on your fellow servant as I had mercy on you?' And in anger his lord delivered him to the torturers, till he should pay all his

debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart."

Matthew 18:23-35

10,000 talents 10,000 = highest number used in counting talent = largest currency unit in the Middle

East

The yearly tribute for all of the district of Judea and Perea in 4

BC was 200 talents

This is an amount beyond conception!

10,000 talents = 100,000,000 denarii. 1 denarius = a daily wage

10,000 talents = 100,000,000 days wages 10,000 talents = 273,972 years pay

100 denarii = 100 days wages/ 3 months pay

2843 The parable of the merciless servant, which crowns the Lord's teaching on ecclesial communion, ends with these words: "So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you

do not forgive your brother from your heart." It is there, in fact, "in the depths of the heart," that everything is bound and

loosed.

It is not in our power not to feel or to forget an offense; but the heart that offers itself to the Holy Spirit turns injury into compassion and purifies the memory in transforming the hurt into intercession.

2844 Christian prayer extends to the forgiveness of enemies, transfiguring the disciple by configuring him

to his Master. Forgiveness is a high-point of Christian prayer; only hearts attuned to God's compassion can

receive the gift of prayer.

Forgiveness also bears witness that, in our world, love is stronger than sin. The martyrs of yesterday and today

bear this witness to Jesus. Forgiveness is the fundamental condition of the reconciliation of the children of God with

their Father and of men with one another.

2845 God does not accept the sacrifice of a sower of disunion, but commands that he depart from the altar so that he may first be reconciled with his brother. For God can be appeased only

by prayers that make peace. To God, the better offering is peace, brotherly concord, and a people made one in the unity

of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

"Being merciful seems to be an essential quality for a human being if he or she wants

to be in the image and likeness of God." Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa

How does this happen?

Not by trying harder

By grace. By God's power at work within me

(Faith is God's work in me to which I respond)

By the Holy Spirit helping me to understand that the cross of

Jesus was and is for me

"As the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must

forgive" (Colossians 3:13)

Questions: 1. Forgiveness: what does it not mean?

2. Forgiveness: what does it mean? 3. What is the key to forgiveness?