Forgive Others

June 21, 2012

Memorial of Saint Aloysius Gonzaga, religious

Jesus said to his disciples: "In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him. This is how you are to pray: ´Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.´ If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions." (Matthew 6: 7-15)

Piety

Lord, teach me to pray.  Teach me to trust in you because you know what I need before I do.  Teach me to accept your will and act upon it.  Take from me, Father, all the obstacles I have erected to our true friendship and dialogue.  Give to me, Jesus, all that leads me to you.  Set me free, Holy Spirit, from my sins.  Amen.

Study

You have to love the disciples and their humanity.  For three years, they followed Jesus around. They ate with Jesus.  They walked with Jesus.  They discussed weighty political, economic and religious issues with Jesus.  They spent time in the temple, in the city, in the country, and at the shore with Jesus.

At every stretch, they witnessed Jesus praying.  Yet, in all those interactions, they still needed to ask Jesus to teach them to pray.

Thus we have what many consider the perfect prayer.  The Lord's own prayer. 

Action

For all its perfection, do we sometimes use the Lord's prayer to automatically?  It's one of the first prayers our parents taught to us.  It's one of the first prayers we taught to our children.  However, does committing it to memory and using it daily get in the way of having a true dialogue of prayer with our Father?  Does committing it to memory and repeating it daily get in the way of the actions we promise to God?  Are our words like those of Elijah, like a flaming furnace?  Or are our words more like a flashlight with weak batteries?

Do you keep holy God's name?  Or do you use it in anger sometimes when things don't go your way?

Do you discern God's will for you and then act on it rather than your own ambition?

Do you accept only what you need and pass on the rest to those who have less than you do?

Do you forgive others in order to convince the Lord to forgive your sins?  Or do you wait for them to forgive you first?

Don't automatically recite the Lord's Prayer today.  Use the Lord's prayer to open a true dialogue with the Father and then carry out the actions which He asks of you.