St. John the Baptist Church, Ottsville recently issued the following announcement. 

This is the third and final extract from Matthew’s discourse on the Church. Peter has a problem about forgiveness and makes a generous suggestion of forgiving a person seven times, only to get an astounding response from Jesus that he should forgive a person seventy-seven times. 

This parable is about the mercy of God. Nothing except mercy born of compassion cancels a debt like the one referred to in the story. 

It further ends by calling us to be merciful as we have received mercy. Mercy is deeper than forgiveness; it sees into the heart of the other and walks around for a while in the others shoes. It includes compassion and active healing. 

To live in an environment of mercy is to live in an atmosphere of peace, healing and growth. 

Jesus continues to emphasize forgiveness. Think of how it is given generously so that we may give it freely to others. 

Forgiveness is something very creative and goes beyond the existing facts. It recognizes the deeper goodness in people, despite what they have done. 

Forgiveness means pardoning and letting go completely, creating and making the offender new again. It requires great grace to forgive. Mercy or forgiveness is far nobler, it says, I want the person to be fully well and alive again. 

C.S. Lewis wrote: “Everyone says forgiveness is a lovely idea, until they have something to forgive.” 

When we fail to forgive, we are shackled to the evil which has been done to us. We cannot move forward. How free are we if we are tied to resentments? 

We must be prepared to forgive seventy-seven times, and then we must also be ready to ask for forgiveness – seventy-seven times.”

Original source can be found here.