Three weeks ago, I was privileged to witness our daughter’s 35-week scan: the baby’s powerful, regular beating heart tracking across the screen was unforgettable. The other data on the screen was not nearly as significant.

Scholars tells us the heart, referring to the whole person, is mentioned around 1,000 times in the Scriptures. It’s the inner being, the source of will as well as feelings. Openness of heart is a necessary state for prayer and discernment. And forgiveness. The Scripture references suggest the heart is where God wishes to be, with us.

Jesus gives this pointed reference: “unless you forgive your brother from your heart…” The Greek word in the Lord’s Prayer suggests “and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” Jesus’ parable of the Unforgiving Servant chooses this language of indebtedness. Do we have an informed sense of what we ‘owe’ others and nurture a flourishing garden of gratitude?

Today’s saint, Maximilian Kolbe, had two weeks to forgive his Nazi torturers as they starved, he and his companions to death, 84 years ago. How did he do it, and encourage his fellow condemned at the same time? Grace is the only answer that makes any sense. This consolation supplants stoicism or thinking ‘life is too short to hold grudges.’

Let us pray: Move us Lord Jesus, to the heartfelt determination of let us love the way you did when you forgave your killers from the cross and let us love you and trust you as Maximilian Kolbe did. Amen.

By Peter Webb