Prayer Intention for March

That the importance of forgiveness and reconciliation between individuals and peoples may be understood and that through her testimony the Church may spread Christ’s love, the source of new humanity.

The following is from http://apostleshipofprayer.org:

Appropriate for Lent, Pope Benedict XVI turns our prayers this month to the beautiful practice of forgiveness. Jesus Christ came to take away our sins and to reconcile us to God and each other. As we walk in the faith--sometimes stumbling, sometimes falling--we continue to seek forgiveness. Staying forgiven is the key to living close to God.

The Sacrament of Confession, the Holy Father said in a homily last year, lets one experience “forgiveness of sins, reconciliation with the Church, recovery of the state of grace, …and an increase of spiritual strength for the struggle of Christian living.”

But we make a great mistake if we limit our understanding of forgiveness to ourselves. Jesus made it clear that God forgives us “as we forgive those who trespass against us.” Then he himself showed us how it’s done when he prayed for those who were crucifying him: “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”

Jesus called us to forgive our brother “seventy-seven” times. It’s often hard to forgive those who have injured us, especially when they do not ask for forgiveness. But unforgiveness works like a cancer, destroying our relationships with one another as well as with God. If we harbor anger, we must let it go by forgiving as often as it returns. We don’t deny our hurt, smooth it over, or rely on our feelings. We will to forgive, and we persist in willing it. Robert Enright, a founder of the International Forgiveness Institute, says that our forgiveness of someone is not complete until from our hearts we wish that person well.

The Pope’s vision of forgiveness is wider still. He wants us to understand that without forgiveness, no true peace can exist between peoples or nations. Forgiveness alone can break the cycles of vengeance. Even if the forgiveness is one-sided, it represents the only hope of peace. To spread Christ’s love--whether as an individual, group, nation, or Church—means practicing forgiveness.

Reflection:
Is there someone in your life you have not fully forgiven? What steps will you take to do so?

Scripture:
Matthew 18: 21-22: “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.”

Links:

Pope John Paul II's Apostolic Exhortation "Reconciliation and Penance"

Bishop Robert Carlson's Pastoral Letter "Jesus Christ, the Divine Physician"