the miracles of forgiveness
"My heavenly Father will treat you in exactly the same way unless each of you forgives his brother from his heart." —Matthew 18:35
We must forgive:
- everyone for every sin (see Mt 6:12),
- 70 x 7 (Mt 18:22),
- immediately (Mt 5:23-25),
- enemies (see Mt 5:39ff),
- those who apologize (Lk 17:4) and those who don't,
- those who keep sinning against us (Lk 23:34), and
- from our hearts (Mt 18:35).
Obviously, it is humanly impossible to forgive by God's standards. "To err is human; to forgive is divine." Yet we must forgive, or we will not be forgiven (Mt 6:14-15). We are in an impossible situation. We need the Savior. We need Jesus. He is divine, and He will immediately give us His divine power to forgive.
By Jesus' grace, decide to forgive all for every sin committed against you. Verbally state your decision. Say: "By the power of Jesus, I decide to forgive (name) for (sin)." Now, like the father of the prodigal son, show love and mercy to those whom you are forgiving (see Lk 15:20ff). Receive the miracle of forgiveness immediately.
Prayer: Father, make me a minister of reconciliation (2 Cor 5:18). Show me what You mean by this.
Promise: "I canceled your entire debt when you pleaded with me. Should you not have dealt mercifully with your fellow servant, as I dealt with you?" —Mt 18:32-33
Praise: Suffering a nearly fatal illness only deepened St. Maximilian's efforts in spreading God's truth and defending the faith.
Reference: (For a related teaching, order our leaflet, Fourteen Questions on Forgiveness, or our audio on Forgiveness, AV 106A-1, AV 106A-3, AV 106B-1 or our video V-106A, V-106B.)
Rescript: †Most Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Auxiliary Bishop, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, February 19, 2014
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