Forgiveness is considered part of the character of God from the first promise of forgiveness to Adam through a Messiah to come. When the Messiah, Jesus, did come He preached the need to be like God and forgive one another. He claimed the power to forgive sins, insisting this was divine power. He gave this power to His Apostles [Jn 20:21-23] promising to forgive those they pardoned. Jesus who taught His followers: "love your enemies" and "do good to those that hate you," in His dying breath on the Cross he prayed for pardon and forgiveness for those who had nailed Him there: "Father, forgive them; they do not know what they are doing." [Lk 23:34]

"All is forgiven to those who know how to forgive and are willing to do so," said Blessed Pope John XXIII. We must ask ourselves: Do we know how to forgive? Christ Himself warned us: "If you forgive the faults of others, your heavenly Father will forgive you yours. If you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive you" [Mt 6:14]. To learn how to forgive, we must reflect on the Parables: The Prodigal Son [Lk 15:11-31] and The Penitent Woman [Lk 7:36-50] and we must burn into our souls and hearts Christ's words of forgiveness during His dying moment on the Cross. Be mindful of what we ask in this petition. We are asking God to use the measure of how we forgive our brothers and sisters to be the measure of forgiving us.