SAINT KATHARINE DREXEL, VIRGIN (OPTIONAL MEMORIAL)

Go first and be reconciled with your brother. 

Some friendships can be like fine porcelain. They are easy to break but difficult to mend.

We all know how painful it is to experience a friend’s betrayal or rejection. It’s one of the most difficult things a person can endure. That helps explain why it can be hard to forgive someone who has hurt us deeply. In some cases, though, this failure to forgive can do more harm than the act that initially hurt us. If left alone, wounds like these have a tendency to fester and grow larger and larger.

This is one reason why Jesus commanded us to forgive. He knows how much damage unforgiveness can cause. Yet at the same time, he doesn’t underestimate how difficult this call can be. After all, Jesus himself endured the betrayal of a close friend. Imagine how he must have wept over Judas! Still, Jesus urges—he even commands—us to forgive, to be reconciled, and to let go of past hurts. He went so far as to say that the degree to which we forgive one another is the degree to which we will know his Father’s forgiveness (Matthew 18:35).

There is simply no way around it. We have to forgive. It may sound too demanding, but remember Jesus and the mercy he has shown to us. He has a storehouse of love to make up for our lack. He can help us when our hearts are hard or bitter.

Oftentimes, forgiveness happens over time and in gradual layers—and Jesus knows that. He is not as concerned with whether we have forgiven everyone completely as he is concerned that we keep our hearts soft and ask him for the grace to be a bit more merciful each day. So take one more step today toward being reconciled with your brothers and sisters! Let the love of Christ fill you so that you can give that same love and mercy to all the people in your life.

“Lord Jesus, only you can mend broken hearts and heal wounded souls. Make me whole by the power of your Spirit. Give me the grace to forgive.”

Ezekiel 18:21-28
Psalm 130:1-8
Matthew 5:20-26