By REY FLORES
“Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”
This is, of course, the most poignant part of our Lord’s Prayer. We must have said millions of “Our Fathers” in our lifetimes; but has this specific message truly sunk in for most of us?
We live in quite the judgmental and unforgiving world. We can simply turn on any television program or radio broadcast, or read any recent story on the Internet or in the newspapers, and all of it is finger-pointing, criticism, and a barrage of accusations, implications, allegations, and scandal.
As one example, look at the whole Russia “collusion” nonsense that has been the fake news media’s obsession for the past year since President Trump took office. The 24-hour news cycle is constantly accusing President Trump of all sorts of improprieties, treason, and God-only-knows what next.
No one here gets out unscathed, because we as fallen human beings are quick to judge and pontificate from our self-aggrandizing soapboxes. We are constantly aware of the faults and shortcomings of others, but we are slow to examine our own lives.
As if our judging each other wasn’t bad enough, when we bear false witness against our neighbor, that’s obviously much worse.
In Matthew, chapter 7, we are taught: “Judge not, that you may not be judged. For with what judgment you judge, you shall be judged: and with what measure you mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why seest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye; and seest not the beam that is in thy own eye?”
How many of us live by these words? I certainly haven’t, but with every fleeting moment and passing day, I see the vital importance of practicing this virtue.
Don’t get me wrong. We need to hold each other accountable as sons and daughters of God when we go astray, but by no means are we to forget to hold ourselves accountable first and foremost.
When we do call each other out on actions and words that are unworthy of our Lord, we must do so with complete love and charity. Our concern should be for our fellow’s eternal soul, not just us trying to be superior to someone.
To correct and to bombast are two very different things. It’s like when those of us who are parents attempt to correct our children when they do something wrong. Do we admonish the child just to berate and belittle him and make him feel guilty or bad? Or do we correct our children with the full intention of helping form them as good servants of our Lord?
In a society whose favorite pastimes are finger-pointing, gossiping, and scandalizing each other, it’s hard for us to take the high road. We have become so spiritually lazy that we find it difficult to concern ourselves with helping to get each other to Heaven, so instead of correcting each other in charity, we condemn each other as if we were judge and jury all in one.
Imagine just how much better our immediate world would be if we all could care and love for each other enough to help form each other as God intended. Instead of being like the Pharisees, we need to be more like the Good Samaritan in everything we do.
Instead of kicking each other while we’re down when we’ve erred or committed a sin, we must help each other heal from that injurious sin. We have the sacraments to help heal us and give us the graces to be good and honest servants of our Lord, and it is in our daily activities and interactions where grace is most needed.
It’s much easier to examine our consciences when we’re standing in line waiting for Confession — but imagine if we did this throughout each day. I’ve found that if I practice doing this as often as possible, it becomes easier and it becomes part of my natural being.
It is imperative that we remember always that repentance is the first step of our salvation, but it just isn’t enough to acknowledge our failures, sins, and shortcomings. We must strive to learn from those errors and firmly resolve to correct and change our actions and behaviors for the better.
In the Sacrament of Confession, we can go time after time and return with the same baggage, confessing the same old sins in vain. We must firmly resolve to sin no more.
Yes, it’s easier said than done, but without true contrition for our sins, we only harm our own souls, and we will continue to hurt those around us.
The presumption of God’s mercy is incredibly sinful. We cannot participate in premeditated sin believing that it will be all forgiven if we just go and confess, after deliberately committing any act which we know is a sin.
Lent is a perfect time for us to start living the Gospel and not just using it as a tool to measure others. Let’s practice forgiving each other as we want God to forgive us.
The Lord’s Prayer isn’t just a collection of empty and meaningless words. These are the words to live by — if there ever were any words to live by.
As Jesus told Mary Magdalen, “Your sins are forgiven. Go and sin no more.” Let us learn to love each other by forgiving each other, and by that virtue, it is likely that we will also sin no more — or at least less and less as we make our way to our eternal reward with God in Heaven.
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