Nineteenth Sunday of the Year

GRANT forgiveness

'The Lord has set his seal on us' in Baptism and Confirmation 

This is another way of looking at the Epistle from St Paul to the Ephesians, by using the acronym GRANT

Grudges-constant, permanent, reminder every time we see that person we think of something they said or did that colours everything they say in the future and we are biased towards them, minimising any good they may do or esteem we have for them

Raising your voice – hard not to do with a class of young fellas, but presumably this is when someone loses it as it were. While it is their problem we have to deal calmly, but if it is us who are raising our voice we have already lost the argument as well as perhaps being in danger of losing our dignity.

Allowing Spitefulness – implies that we make a conscious decision to say or do things or refrain to help out of spite – a form of revenge served cold, a calculated, studied coolness

Name calling – categorising people, a  nickname that is nasty that can stick – at our school we had nicknames for teachers but you would be put to the pin of your collar trying to remember their actual names.  Unfortunately we had hurtful names for one another

Temper – some people have a short fuse, others are blessed with a more patient disposition but keep away from them when they blow their top! Why and how do I ‘lose it’?

All of these are forms of active or passive aggression and all tell one thing – we are not at peace in the present or with our past - we might project or blame our forgotten buried aggression and something or someone causes us to have our feathers ruffled and we go ballistic! What have we taken out on others? How was temper taken out on us – unfortunately it is a vicious cycle – it poisons us and poisons the community at large..

We are not at peace with God or ourselves- and hence we are less likely to be at peace with others. We must seek ongoing healing and learn to forgive from the heart. Buried anger will manifest itself. Therefore there must be an acknowledgment  on my part of hurts that I have caused through thoughtlessness if not malice – be it in word or action, anger others, and anger too that I have instigated, and buried guilt and shame. Only God can give us the grace we need.

Then we can present a sacrifice at the altar – hence the importance of the sign of peace if for no other reason than to take the next best step in the right direction to seek healing and reconciliation with others and to make serious effects at reconciliation and avoiding inflicting hurt in the future.

We always begin Mass by calling to mind our sins, ands accept our own share of the blame or sense of responsibility. Before receiving Jesus in Holy Communion we pray 'GRANT us peace!'