Thursday of the
Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
(Sirach 48:1-14;
Matthew 6:7-15)
A man was hurt as a
child by the school’s bully. His arm was
twisted behind his back until its ligaments were torn from the bone. The injury caused intense pain at the moment
and long afterwards. He resented his offender until he experienced a conversion
when he was writing him a letter about the trouble he caused.
One day, the man found
his abuser’s picture and a description of his activities in an Internet search. The former bad boy was the director of a
large trucking company. The man began a grudge
letter but then stopped realizing that he harbored hatred. The letter changed from vindictive to
reconciliatory as the man asked forgiveness for his long-term resentment. He received a gracious letter back, but it
was also a bit disappointing. The former
bully said that he honestly could not recall the incident but was sorry for any
injury he had caused.
Sometimes we hurt
others without realizing the damage that is done. We cannot make an adequate apology. We stand helpless before God unable to feel
contriteness for our sin. In light of
what Jesus says in today’s gospel, we should ask God to forgive not only the offenses
we are conscious of but also those which we do not realize that we made. Likewise, we pray that we may forgive others
even when – as is sometimes the case -- they do not realize how they have
offended us.
