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St. Peter was taught by Jesus to forgive his brother, not seven times but seventy-seven times. (Matthew 18:21)
That's a lot of forgiveness! We might think that's unattainable, but how many times would we like to be forgiven? I'd like to be forgiven more than seventy-seven times.
How many times do we find ourselves saying, "I'm sorry," with the hope of hearing, "I forgive you," in return? And what if our brother refuses to forgive us right then and there? Well, we wish he would, so our messy slate can be cleared and we won't feel so bad. But we should be seeking forgiveness so our brother won't feel bad. That's what Jesus means to forgive from our heart.
With this in mind, we can ask God to present another opportunity with this brother to receive the forgiveness we were hopeful for. And He will. If our brother is ready to forgive but doesn't have the courage or humility to say, "I'm sorry," we may see our chance emerge as a smile, a pleasant greeting or maybe even a hug - so when that opportunity arrives, we should embrace it. I don't know about you, but I'll take a big ol' smile or a whopping hug to a shrug seventy-seven times. Chances are, so will our brother.
Blessed Lent!
Elizabeth
Elizabeth Tichvon is a Catholic writer and Consecrated Marian Catechist under the Direction of His Eminence Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke. Always faithful to the Magisterium, she spreads and defends the Catholic faith as a true witness of Christ, confessing the name of Jesus boldly, never ashamed of the Cross.
Elizabeth became aware of the need for the New Evangelization while in the two years of her formation as a Marian Catechist and wrote over 200 published meditations on Sacred Scripture from the daily Liturgy of the Word for various Catholic websites, and following Jesus' example, now teaches through her own parables so that by sharing her stories through social media, might bring others closer to the heart of Christ. She is currently a regular columnist at Catholic365 and as a Marian Catechist, her spiritual life is the foundation of her writing.
She completed UCLA's Graduate Program With Honors and worked as a Paralegal for 32 years before retiring from Chrysler's Office of the General Counsel in Auburn Hills, Michigan.
Elizabeth's website may be found at elizabethtichvon.net
