By Emily Mendez
Connecting Liturgy and Life
Editor’s note: For 2026, the weekly “Connecting Faith and Life” column has been renamed “Connecting Liturgy and Life.” The column consists of reflections on Part Two of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), which focuses on the Liturgy and the Sacraments.
cf. CCC 1485-1498
Praying the Our Father can be a dangerous thing. We may often do it with little to no thought, but when we pray the Our Father we tell God to, “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” Why does Jesus insist so strongly that his followers forgive?
This week wraps up the section of the Catechism on the sacrament of reconciliation. This summary section highlights the grace and gift of God’s forgiveness and impels us to receive the sacrament of reconciliation. It also leads us to a deeper question in the Christian life. When we read the Gospel, we cannot stop with only receiving God’s forgiveness. We are called to extend the same forgiveness we have received to others.
We have been given a tremendous gift in receiving the forgiveness of sins that Jesus merited for us on the cross and has made available in the sacrament of reconciliation. Because of this, God has commanded us to extend that same forgiveness to others. Jesus desired so deeply for his disciples to live this way that he put the words right there in the Our Father, the words he taught us to pray. This can be very difficult to do. There is a huge struggle to forgive when someone has really hurt us or a great injustice has been committed. Forgiving others does not mean that they deserve it or that their offense is “forgivable.” It means that even if they do not deserve it and their offense is totally wrong, we still forgive because this is how generously God has forgiven us.
When we struggle to forgive, we can pray for God’s grace to help us get to a place where we can embrace forgiving. Having a forgiving heart is one of the marks of a Christian. In Matthew 18, when Peter asks Jesus how many times he needs to forgive if his brother sins against him, Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times” (Matthew 18:22). Jesus’ challenge does not mean that when we get to the 78th offense we stop forgiving. It means endless forgiveness. It means we stop keeping score. Jesus follows this challenge with a parable about the kingdom of heaven likening it to a king that forgives the debt of a servant only to have the servant turn and demand payment from his debtor. This makes the king angry and results in the servant being turned over to the torturers until he pays back his whole debt. Jesus sums up the teaching saying: “So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgives his brother from his heart” (Matthew 18:35).
Why does Jesus insist so strongly that his followers forgive? He wants for his love to live in our hearts. He wants us to have life, to have freedom and to have peace. Nothing steals our peace more than unforgiveness. When we allow bitterness, resentment and the desire for revenge to live in our hearts, there is less space for God’s love to dwell. We all need a continuous conversion on this side of heaven, where we will never be a finished piece of work. Our hearts can always be expanded to allow God’s love to dwell more richly. The next time someone offends us or sins against us in some way, we can offer forgiveness, as God does, and experience the freedom of heart God wants to trade for our own bitterness, resentment or desire for revenge. Then, we can pray with confidence, “… forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” Our hearts will be more full of love and mercy; more full of God himself.