Day 363: Forgive Us Our Trepasses

This petition is so important that it is the only one to which the Lord returns and which he develops explicitly in the Sermon on the Mount. This crucial requirement of the covenant mystery is impossible for man. But "with God all things are possible. CCC 2841

In today's reading, the Catechism discusses the next petition of the Lord's Prayer: "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." Interestingly, I hadn't noticed the connection between the two in the Lord's Prayer that are conditioned upon each other. I guess this is one of those things that is right there in "black and white" but unless you are looking for it can miss one's attention. Christ even explains immediately afterwards that unless we forgive others that the Father will not forgive us (Mt 6:14-15). He further stresses that our forgiveness must be limitless (Mt 18:21-22), just as that of God for us, and He also gives the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant (Mt 18:23-45). So I guess I should say, "duh". It's pretty clear what Scripture teaches that is echoed in the Lord's Prayer: our forgiveness from God is conditioned not only by our faith, but also by our forgiveness of others who sin against us.  

The Catechism Compendium summarizes why we say “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us” and how forgiveness is possible:

By asking God the Father to pardon us, we acknowledge before him that we are sinners. At the same time, we proclaim his mercy because in his Son and through the sacraments “we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Col 1:14). Still, our petition will be answered only if we, for our part, have forgiven first. Mercy can penetrate our hearts only if we ourselves learn how to forgive – even our enemies. Now, even if it seems impossible for us to satisfy this requirement, the heart that offers itself to the Holy Spirit can, like Christ, love even to love’s extreme; it can turn injury into compassion and transform hurt into intercession. Forgiveness participates in the divine mercy and is a high-point of Christian prayer. (#594-95)

The Catechism Companion Vol III has some good commentary on this:

We live in this world that is so broken, and we are so quick to hurt each other. In asking for forgiveness, we are acknowledging our own shortcomings and failures. We admit that we have fallen short... It is true that we sin and fail. But it is false to say that we are not good. The whole truth is that we are broken and sinful but essentially good, and we are loved. Asking God to forgive our trespasses is not only an acknowledgement of our sins but a proclamation of God's merciful willingness to heal and forgive. We have to see that we have sinned and that we have a Savior who loves us... Forgiveness - love -overcomes evil. We see that love depicted on every crucifix. (p. 242)