Forgive
No one, more than God, has the frequent opportunity to forget our sins and the wrongs that offended him. It is almost every moment that our guardian angel could record in the book of our life, our failings in the fulfillment of our duty, our breaches of the commandments, and even more serious sins! What would become of us if the Lord were without mercy, without mercy on us as we are sometimes towards the neighbor who has offended us? Our wrongs towards God are endless, and God forgives us, covering them with forgiveness at the slightest sign of our sincere repentance.
Here is the model to follow! Indeed, if we retain any animosity, resentment or anger towards those who have offended us, we are not entitled to claim the mercy of the Lord which we refuse to grant to our brothers. A worthy and generous soul knows how to forget the wrongs of which it has been the victim. In doing so, she imitates the leniency of the Heart of Jesus, she honors and consoles Him. If we know how to forgive, let us be fully assured that God will use this same measure to forgive us too. Silencing within us the natural resentment that arises in our souls in the face of an injustice to which we have been the object, to grant forgiveness to the one who has deeply hurt us, are the most beautiful victories we can achieve over ourselves. Some go further by showing great charity and benevolence towards those who offend them, seeking to overcome evil with good.
Without being these heroes of faith, and even if our complaints are justified, we can reread our year and practice praying for all those who have persecuted us with their judgments, their wickedness, their slander and who have deeply hurt us. … Let us entrust them to the infinite mercy of the incarnate God and thus, freed from the burden of our grudges, we can begin a new year with the abundant blessings of the Heart of Jesus on our souls! (Sr Marie of the Sacred Heart Bernaud)