Forgive as We Forgive

Assuredly, the celebration of Lauds and Vespers must never pass by without the superior’s reciting the entire Lord’s Prayer at the end for all to hear, because thorns of contention are likely to spring up. Thus warned by the pledge they make to one another in the very words of this prayer: Forgive us as we forgive (Matt 6:12), they may cleanse themselves of this kind of vice. (RB80.13.12-13)

Three times a day during our common prayer there is a time for praying the Our Father together. Why is there such a need? Isn't a quick sorry enough to cover all the hurts of the day?

Living in a group (family, community, dorm, roommates, etc) there are plenty of opportunities each day to practice forgiveness. The hurts can be the person who cuts me off on the BA on the way to work, the person who did not bother to hold the door open for me when they saw I was juggling five packages, or the visitor I was rude to because I was in a hurry. All of these are daily minor injuries that are part of living with others and interacting, even casually.

Just when I think I might be saved since I am asking God to forgive me, I am stopped by reading the last part of the sentence. It's not just forgive me but forgive me as I forgive others. Would I really want God to be as slow to extend forgiveness to me as I am in extending forgiveness at times? Afterall, I can still remember a careless comment someone made my first day at the monastery (25 years ago), do I really want God to remember my faults that long?

May I remember to be as forgiving and patient with others as I would like them to be with me.

Sr. Catherine