In teaching us how to pray Jesus left us the Our Father. The older I get the more I say this prayer with serious intent. One of the recurring temptations I wrestle with is the need to let go and forgive.
Our Lord certainly understood human nature when He told Peter it would be necessary to “forgive seventy times seven.”
The second half of the Lord’s Prayer includes a conditional clause which if taken seriously could transform social relationships throughout societies and between nations. “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”
Lately when the memory of a past hurt comes to mind, I ask: “forgive me my trespasses as I forgive …..”