March 6/Second Saturday of Lent
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so surpassing is his kindness toward those who fear him.
As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he put our transgressions from us. ~ Ps 103.11-12
We live in an unforgiving time. One verbal misstep can derail a career; a long-ago article or photograph leads to job termination; the foolhardy soul who transgresses perceived orthodoxy on the internet will be cancelled in a matter of minutes. Vindictiveness is all the rage, forgiveness out of fashion. Even in our relationships with family and friends, it can be hard to muster true mercy. Resentment over those annoying little habits of our spouse accretes; bitterness at a long-ago slight from a friend or neighbor lingers. But God shows us another way to deal with those who offend us: the way of forgiveness. This is not to be a grudging act, a muttered and inaudible “never mind.” No, we are to forgive extravagantly and exuberantly – much like the father of the prodigal son in today’s Gospel. Preaching on the importance of mercy, Pope Francis cites Jesus’s loving forgiveness of those who put him on the cross, and observes: “Every page of the Gospel is marked by this imperative of a love that loves to the point of forgiveness.” We, too, are called to obey this imperative of love, and to forgive, extravagantly and comprehensively. The psalmist describes this with the rhetorical device known as “merism,” which uses diametrically opposite terms (think “A to Z”) to convey the idea of totality. God’s loving forgiveness of us extends as high as the highest height and spans as wide as the widest width. If God can offer us such vast mercy, so much more are we, too, called to offer others a forgiveness mercy that extends – to use another merism – from sea to shining sea.
O God of steadfast mercy, Give me the spiritual fortitude and grace to wrap my arms of forgiveness around those who have hurt or offended me. Amen.
For today’s readings, click here: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/030621.cfm
To hear the Ensemble Vocal Beata mvsicA sing Benedic anima mea by Claudin de Sermisy (1490-1562), click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_va5adJ8fb0
