I must admit that I have prayed the Our Father so often that I don’t always “hear” what I am saying. I suspect I might not be alone that.

As I work my way through Pope Francis’ wonderful series of Wednesday audiences devoted to the Our Father, I have become more aware of how challenging this prayer is.  Now…“forgive us our trespasses AS WE FORGIVE THOSE WHO TRESPASS AGAINST US.

But first, let me begin where Pope Francis begins.

After asking God for our daily bread, the “Lord’s Prayer” enters the sphere of our relationships with others.

Jesus teaches us to ask the Father: “forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Mt 6:12). Just as we need bread, we also need forgiveness; this too, this every day.

A Christian who prays asks God, first of all, that his debts be forgiven, that is, his sins, the bad things he does.

This is the first truth of every prayer: even if we were perfect people, even if we were pure saints who never deviate from a virtuous life, we continue to be children who owe everything to the Father.

There are sins that are seen and sins that are unseen. There are glaring sins that make noise but there are also sins that are devious, that lurk in our heart without us even noticing. The worst of these is pride, which can even infect people who live a profound religious life.

One who prays learns to say “thank you”. And so often we forget to say “thank you”.

Further implications…

Today we shall complete the catechesis on the fifth request of the “Lord’s Prayer”, by focusing on the expression “as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Mt 6:12).

The vertical relationship with benevolence on God’s part refracts and is called to translate into a new relationship with our brothers and sisters: a horizontal relationship.

The good God invites all of us to be good. The two parts of the invocation are linked together with a stern conjunction: we ask the Lord to forgive our debts, our sins, ‘as’ we forgive our friends, the people who live with us, our neighbors, the people who have done something bad to us.

But the Grace of God, so abundant, is always demanding. Those who have received much must learn to give much, and not to keep only for themselves what they have received.

I have heard people say: “I will never forgive that person! I will never forgive that person for what he did to me!”. But if you do not forgive, God will not forgive you. You close the door. Let us consider whether we are able to forgive or if we do not forgive.

Here again, we find the connection between love of God and love of neighbour. Love attracts love; forgiveness attracts forgiveness.

…  in Matthew we find a very strong parable dedicated to fraternal forgiveness (cf. 18:21-35). Let us listen to it.

It took on new meaning for me as I reread it

A king forgave a servant an enormous debt… But the servant went out and would not forgive the smaller debt owed him by a fellow servant. Certainly, a double standard! Yet I fear it is a common standard in our world.

As I look over my life

• Do I appreciate how often I have been forgiven?
• Do I remember to say thank you?
• Do I more readily forgive those I love than those I don’t love?

Click below for an audio version of this Vincentian Mindwalk