Know the Mass, One Word at a Time - Forgive

As part of the Archdiocese of Chicago’s Strategic Pastoral Plan for the Year of Sunday Mass and the Year of Faith my parish bulletin is including a series of articles called Know the Mass, One Word at a Time. This is a recent post:

Forgive

No one enjoys freedom more than a forgiving person. To be unburdened of a haunting past that we regret or to be released from earlier missteps that seemed to doom our future — that is a real sense of freedom that flows from forgiveness. Make no mistake about it; every time we celebrate Mass together we meet the God who forgives us in Jesus Christ, "This is the chalice of my blood, the blood of the new and eternal covenant which will be poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins." At Mass, we know unmistakably and unforgettably that God forgives us.

The other side of forgiving belongs to us. Every Mass challenges us to forgive as we have been forgiven: "So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift." (Matthew 5:23-24)