Ecclesiasticus 48:1-15 / Matthew 6:7-15
What often disturbs our peace of mind are resentment and bitterness.
When our minds are disturbed, so too will be our hearts.
And the resentment and bitterness are often about other people.
Those people annoy us, irritate us, upset us, and so we react against them.
We may not express our resentment and bitterness openly against them.
But in our minds and our hearts, the fire of resentment and bitterness rages against them.
And that fire also burns up our energy and our love.
Even in prayer, we may not find the peace that we long for.
In the gospel, after Jesus taught His disciples about the prayer of the Our Father, He also added the teaching about forgiveness.
If we don’t forgive, then we can’t expect to be forgiven either.
If we don’t forgive, the resentment and bitterness in us grow deeper and destroys us.
Let us turn to Jesus in prayer, asking for forgiveness and healing for ourselves, as well as forgiveness and healing for others.