How often must I forgive?

How often must I forgive?

21 Then Peter came and said to him, "Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?"
22 Jesus said to him, "Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.
23 "For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves.
24 When he began the reckoning, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him;
25 and, as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions, and payment to be made.
26 So the slave fell on his knees before him, saying, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.'
27 And out of pity for him, the lord of that slave released him and forgave him the debt.
28 But that same slave, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denari; and seizing him by the throat, he said, 'Pay what you owe.'
29 Then his fellow slave fell down and pleaded with him, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you.'
30 But he refused; then he went and threw him into prison until he would pay the debt.
31 When his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their lord all that had taken place.
32 Then his lord summoned him and said to him, 'You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me.
33 Should you not have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?'
34 And in anger his lord handed him over to be tortured until he would pay his entire debt.
35 So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart." (NRSV)

Inspiration of the Holy Spirit - From the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Sin is the dark inheritance of every human being. I came to this world to forgive sins so that you could be reconciled with my Heavenly Father and partake of his divinity and of the glories of the Kingdom of Heaven.

In my prayer to the Father I have taught you to say “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” In other words, your forgiveness is guaranteed so long as you forgive those who upset you and sin against you.

You must forgive if you expect to be forgiven. Forgiveness begins with patience, which is a mild form of forgiveness and tolerance that opens the heart to complete understanding and mercy.

I have said, be merciful as my heavenly father is merciful, do not judge and you shall not be judged, for with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get.

Justice will be made to those who do not forgive. Therefore, be mild in your judgment; always treat others as you would like them to treat you. Put your self in the other person’s position when you are offended. Do not risk your own forgiveness by having resentments in your heart.

The moment someone offends you is the moment to forgive and forget. The other person may have committed a sin but you are not God to condemn him, forgive him and you will avoid committing a sin yourself. Be merciful and you will obtain mercy on the day of judgment.

When you do not forgive, you create resentment in your heart, which will work against the person who offended you and will serve as the platform to harden your heart. You will accumulate more resentment against other people and in the end you will have many enemies. The evil of your resentments will be your sin; it will surround you with darkness and destroy all your chances to be at peace with your self, with your neighbor and with God.

You will not find happiness on earth as long as you have resentments, therefore you must forgive and forget in order to obtain interior peace and to reconcile your self with others and with God.

There is no point in presenting your offering before Heaven if you still have something against your brother. If you bind resentments in your heart, they will stop you from entering into the joy of my presence, you will have to undo each resentment with many acts of love in order to be purified.

The Holy Spirit cannot be at home in a heart that does not forgive. Lack of forgiveness leads to hatred; which is the opposite of love.

Forgive and you will truly learn how to love, love mercifully and you will imitate the goodness of my loving heart.

Author: Joseph of Jesus and Mary