The new Catechism of the Catholic Church is now the main guide to our beliefs and practices.

There are four parts: the creed (37%; the sacraments (23%); the commandments (27%); and prayer (11%).

  In the section on prayer, the central emphasis is on the Our Father. Why? The Vatican’s official newspaper,  L’ Osservatore Romano, published the following evaluation by Father J. Castellano Cervera, O.C.D.: “The Lord’s prayer, in fact, expresses succinctly the essential wealth of the new filial relationship with the Father which the beloved son came to reveal to us, the fundamental communion of all,  the fundamental unity of the prayer and actions of the Lord’s disciples, the opening to grace and to the hope that is the basis for the Christian vocation, and the trust in God’s promises and gifts of which we are in constant need and which we must implore through prayer.”

  What an impressive analysis of the profound significance of the seemingly simple prayer given to us by Christ, Himself! Surely it will encourage us to grow in knowledge and love and practice of praying the Our Father as the gateway to prayer.

  In our thoughts on praying in the context of the Our Father, let us consider the “forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.” This is a very important condition for developing our relationship with God. Harboring a grudge against someone is a major obstacvle to God’s grace. Experts in the spiritual life tell us that much damage is done to our spiritual, psychological, emotional, and even physical lives if there is a hard heartedness towards someone.

  There is a deep link between our relationship to God and our relationship to others. Prayer and life are never separate. Growth in one means growth in the other. Those who have the gift of healing often see God’s healing take effect when a person let’s goof a dee, ingrained, stubborn grudge.

  If we are to grow in prayer as the new Catechism teaches so extensively, we have to remove obstacles of all kinds and especially the not forgiving of offenses. Jesus included forgiveness in His explanation of the Beatitudes:  “So if you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled ro your brother, and then come and offer your gift” (Mt. 5:23-24).

  We all realize the need to forgive but forgiving is often easier to say than to do. A momentary misunderstanding can last a lifetime. Many grudges are rooted in misunderstandings. What was said and what we think was said can be quite different.

  Ac curate communication between people is far from easy. There are numerous pitfalls in our path when trying to express what we really mean. Even a smile or frown can be interpreted in a way totally opposite to what was intended. The possibilities for misunderstandings are as numerous as personal exchanges. And not saying something is no safeguard against offense. Even writing these words leaves me open to misunderstanding.

   A dangerous pitfall is to say something that is meant to be humorous. The element of  humour is based on what is said being possible to be understood in two different ways with only one of the ways directed to our sense of humour. If the non-humorous meaning is taken as the intended meaning, then a misunderstanding can be born. And frequently occurs, unfortunately.

  How then can we move from hardheartedness and ill will to genuine forgiveness and reconciliation? Has there been anyone more ready to forgive that Christ, Himself? By words and deeds, He gave us an example of unlimited readiness to forgive.

  Peter thought that being ready to forgive someone seven times would be most generous. What a shock for Peter to be told by Jesus: “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven” (Mt. 18:22). In other words, never stop forgiving.

   How can we continue to hold a grudge while seeing Jesus on the cross and hearing the words: “Father forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Lk. 23:34)?

  Although the apostles all fled and Peter denied Jesus three times, the lesson of forgiveness given by Jesus had taken root in their lives. They came back knowing that He would and did forgive them from the heart.

  Judas, too, would have been forgiven if he had taken the step. The choosing of Judas and his falling away even to betrayal is a mystery. There is a deep lesson for each of us about not presuming on God’s grace.

  And in this context of preparing ourselves for the proper praying relationship with God, the lesson we are trying to learn and to follow is “we forgive those who trespass against us.”