By Fr Grant Tungay SJ
The Pope’s prayer intention for March concerns families in crisis. We pray that through forgiveness, families experiencing brokenness might discover healing. We also pray that through a process of letting go of hurts, families might discover the gifts that God has given to each member of the family. There is an invitation with this prayer to discover the diversity and richness of blessings that God has given to us in our families. It invites us to consider that a powerful way for us to notice our blessings in our families is to ask God for the grace of forgiveness. Through this grace, with the help of God, we can begin to accept ourselves and others as sinners loved by God.
The beautiful prayer for this month can be seen in the light of Pope Francis’ own reflections on the family in his post-synodal apostolic exhortation, Amoris Laetitia. In Chapter Four, he offers us a reflection on how the magnificent hymn to love by St Paul in 1 Corinthians 13 applies to families. St Paul states that love is not irritable and does not keep a record of wrongs. Pope Francis reflects on how important it is in families not to react harshly to the weaknesses and faults of others. We cannot let hurt dwell in our hearts – to let it take root and grow. Because we are human, we can react strongly when we are hurt by others, especially in our families. But Pope Francis says that St Paul invites us to let go of that hurt – to not allow it to fester in our hearts. Do not let the sun set on our anger. He says that before the day ends, we can try to reach out to our families – to express our solidarity in some way, despite the upsets that we can experience daily.
But where do we get the strength to do this? Where do we get the strength to forgive? Pope Francis invites us to consider how much God loves each one of us. This love never stops, even though we are sinners. If we can contemplate how deep that love is for ourselves, we are given the grace to see others as loved sinners as well. By understanding ourselves in a compassionate way, we can understand and accept others in our family in a compassionate way too. That is why St Paul can say that love is patient, kind and does not take account of wrongs.
Let us pray this month with the Holy Father for this grace to experience the love of God that forgives us. As we let that love sink in, let us ask God to help us to forgive others in our family – seeing past their faults and failings to the gifts that God is bringing to us through them. – Vatican News
