Thursday St Maximilian Kolbe

Gospel – Matthew 18:21 – 19:1

Forgive Me!

Wailing Wall, Jerusalem

 

So, there is this one person in my life who, in spite of every effort on my part, continues to test my patience.  They lie and they cheat; they say one thing and never follow through.  They constantly disappoint me!  They keep making mistake after mistake and then come to me looking for forgiveness and another chance.  Where is my breaking point?  Is there even a breaking point?  

It’s hard enough to forgive someone once but what if they constantly hurt us, lie to us, apologize and then go and do it again and again?  We have all been there and it always hurts and makes us question – why should I bother to forgive?  

Today’ Gospel visits a very familiar theme – forgive!  Confront the person who hurt you and help them to change.  And today Peter jumps in, as always, and asks the question we are all silently asking.  How many times do I have to do this?  How many times do I have to forgive?  Seven?  No, seventy-seven times; essentially our response must be to forgive ALWAYS!

Seriously?  After all the times they betrayed me, after all the times they turn around and repeat the same mistake?  Seriously?  Yes, seriously!  God reminds us He is a God of compassion and mercy, a loving parent, like the father in the Prodigal Son!  Maybe we should turn the question around.  How many times do you want to be forgiven?  After all the times we mess up, all the times we stumble and fall, how many times should we be forgiven?  Do we really want a limit?

Some of you might say – why don’t I just let that person in my life go?  It’s too much trouble!   Cut my losses and move on!  Well, it’s not that easy!  This person is an integral part of my life and there is no way to ignore them, much less cut them loose.  You see, that person is ME!  Aren’t we all in the same boat?  Don’t we all find it difficult to forgive ourselves?  Face it, we tend to see the worst in ourselves – I’m no good, I always mess up, I will never get it right!  Sound familiar?  Maybe forgiveness starts at home!

Maybe the first step in forgiving others is learning to forgive ourselves!  We need to recognize the good in ourselves and remember that we all stumble and fall.  But with the love and forgiveness of God, with His compassion and mercy, we all have the ability to get back up and move forward!

He was a Polish priest who spoke out against Nazism during World War II.  He was arrested and sent to Auschwitz where he endured constant beatings and torture from his cruel captors.  In spite of all he suffered, he kept the faith, continually leading his fellow prisoners in prayer and chant.  When 10 prisoners were selected for execution (to be starved to death), he volunteered to take their place, a husband and a father.  After two weeks of starvation and imprisonment in an underground cell, he was finally executed by lethal injection.  This was Father Maximilian Kolb, whose feast we celebrate today.  In the midst of all the storms of life that he faced, Maximilian kept the faith and bolstered the spirits in his fellow prisoners.  In the midst of such pain and evil, he remained joyful in faith and loving of others.

Great Spirit, I am so grateful that you are always here with me, guiding me and protecting me even when I falter and doubt myself and others.  Give me strength today to see the best in others and in myself, to see Your presence in all those around me and to act with compassion and kindness towards all my brothers and sisters.