Today is the final Sunday before the beginning of Great Lent, the time of grace in which the Church challenges us to return to God in fasting and repentance. And on this threshold of Lent we hear Jesus Christ’s somewhat frightening words on the importance of forgiveness. He tells us that if we forgive others then God will forgive us, but if we do not forgive others then we will not be forgiven.
Fasting is common to many religions and some even keep stricter fasts than Christians do. The point of fasting for Christians is not the accumulation of our own ascetical efforts, but rather the softening of our hardened hearts so that we may be transformed into people who truly love God and our neighbours.
The Church therefore begins the fasting period by encouraging us to ask forgiveness of our brothers and sisters, and we are likewise called to forgive those who have offended and hurt us. This is no small task, especially in cases where we have been deeply hurt, yet Jesus Christ sees forgiveness as belonging to the very heart of the Gospel.
Moreover, it is not enough to simply say that we forgive people and to continue to hold grudges against them. Rather, we are called to “lay aside all memories of evil” so that the forgiveness that we offer with our lips may also take root in our hearts and may transform our relationships with those around us. This is something that we cannot do on our own. We need God’s help. And it is only as we begin to see that we too are sinners who need God’s mercy that we will be able to find the wellsprings of compassion within us that will enable us to forgive others from the heart.