Day 79: The Ungenerous Debtor

Photo by Milada Vigerova on Unsplash

The Gospel reading at Mass today was Matthew 18:21-35. It’s the story of the debtor who is brought before the king and begs for forgiveness, but then refuses to forgive the one who is indebted to him.

When I get hazy on what it means to live with gratitude, I find the simplest working definition is to truly focus my attention on the blessings in my life and to let go of the frustrations or hardships. Doing this requires me to let go of ,yinstinct to try to “fix” what (or who) is “wrong” with my life. I realize I can’t fully experience gratitude when I’m still saying, “yes, but … “

This letting go gives others the space they need to learn and grow (not the space that we, like the ungenerous debtor, would give them). Maybe this is the wisdom behind the Peace Prayer of St. Francis (which wasn’t actually written by St. Francis but does have a profound simplicity):

Lord make me an instrument of your peace

Where there is hatred,
Let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is error, truth;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
And where there is sadness, Joy.

O Divine Master grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled
As to console;
To be understood,as to understand;
To be loved, as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.