“FORGIVE OUR TRESPASSES AS WE FORGIVE THOSE WHO TRESPASS AGAINST US...”
THE POWER OF THE LORD’S PRAYER
A very wise Irish priest who accompanied a pilgrimage group to Medjugorje stood up at dinner one evening and asked for everyone’s attention.
He had sensed there was conflict within the group; people were complaining, sniping, gossiping, getting angry and out of sorts with themselves and each other. (Yes, this kind of behaviour can happen on pilgrimages).
The priest was very brief in his address to the group. He simply invited everyone to pray the Lord’s Prayer and to take every word to heart.
Since then, I have never forgotten the power of this prayer to bring the peace of Jesus into any situtation that I find disturbing.
Disappointment and a sense of injustice can can lead to anger and resentment, but we are called to forgive each other’s failures and mistakes. Even when others seemingly fail to carry out the will of the Father, we can also fail when we ‘dig in’ and choose not to forgive.
One of the greatest gifts we all possess is the ability to forgive. We can choose to use it sparingly, we can multiply it over and over again, or we can bury it. We are blessed with the freedom to choose and the devil isn’t slow to push the choices he would want us to make.