On Easter Wednesday, Pope Francis explained the petition of the Our Father, “as we forgive those who trespass against us.”
He reminded pilgrims that everything we have, including life, is a gift and was loved into being by God. Thus, since God always forgive us, how much more must we all forgive others. If we are unable to forgive, we will not be forgiven by God at the end of our life.
SUMMARY OF CATECHESIS IN ENGLISH
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
In our continuing catechesis on the “Our Father”, we now consider the expression: “as we forgive those who trespass against us”. Since everything we have, including our very existence, comes as a gift from God, we are always in his debt, for our life was not simply willed, it was also loved into being. We can be confident, then, that the Lord will always forgive our trespasses when we ask him with contrite hearts. Yet this grace also calls us to forgive others, just as God has forgiven us.
We see this in the parable of the unmerciful servant, who though having his own enormous debt written off, in turn refuses to cancel a much smaller debt owed to him. The message is clear: if you refuse to forgive, then you will not be forgiven. God, however, grants every Christian the grace to be able to transmit to others the precious gift of forgiveness, which we can do with a word, an embrace, or a smile.
I greet the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, especially those from the United Kingdom, Ireland, Finland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and the United States of America. In the joy of the Risen Christ, I invoke upon you and your families the loving mercy of God our Father. May the Lord bless you all!
