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70. We must beware, however, lest anyone suppose that
unspeakable crimes such as they commit who "will not
possess the Kingdom of God" can be perpetrated daily
and then daily redeemed by almsgiving. Of course,
life must be changed for the better, and alms should
be offered as propitiation to God for our past sins.
But he is not somehow to be bought off, as if we
always had a license to commit crimes with impunity.
For, "he has given no man a license to sin"(154)
--although, in his mercy, he does blot out sins
already committed, if due satisfaction for them is
not neglected. 71. For the passing and trivial sins
of every day, from which no life is free, the
everyday prayer of the faithful makes satisfaction.
For they can say, "Our Father who art in heaven," who
have already been reborn to such a Father "by water
and the Spirit."(155) This prayer completely blots
out our minor and everyday sins. It also blots out
those sins which once made the life of the faithful
wicked, but from which, now that they have changed
for the better by repentance, they have departed. The
condition of this is that just as they truly say,
"Forgive us our debts" (since there is no lack of
debts to be forgiven), so also they truly say, "As we
forgive our debtors"(156) ; that is, if what is said
is also done. For to forgive a man who seeks
forgiveness is indeed to give alms.
72. Accordingly, what our Lord says--"Give alms
and, behold, all things are clean to you"(157)
--applies to all useful acts of mercy. Therefore, not
only the man who gives food to the hungry, drink to
the thirsty, clothing to the naked, hospitality to
the wayfarer, refuge to the fugitive; who visits the
sick and the prisoner, redeems the captive, bears the
burdens of the weak, leads the blind, comforts the
sorrowful, heals the sick, shows the errant the right
way, gives advice to the perplexed, and does whatever
is needful for the needy(158) --not only does this
man give alms, but the man who forgives the
trespasser also gives alms as well. He is also a
giver of alms who, by blows or other discipline,
corrects and restrains those under his command, if at
the same time he forgives from the heart the sin by
which he has been wronged or offended, or prays that
it be forgiven the offender. Such a man gives alms,
not only in that he forgives and prays, but also in
that he rebukes and administers corrective
punishment, since in this he shows mercy.
Now, many benefits are bestowed on the unwilling,
when their interests and not their preferences are
consulted. And men frequently are found to be their
own enemies, while those they suppose to be their
enemies are their true friends. And then, by mistake,
they return evil for good, when a Christian ought not
to return evil even for evil. Thus, there are many
kinds of alms, by which, when we do them, we are
helped in obtaining forgiveness of our own sins.
73. But none of these alms is greater than the
forgiveness from the heart of a sin committed against
us by someone else. It is a smaller thing to wish
well or even to do well to one who has done you no
evil. It is far greater--a sort of magnificent
goodness--to love your enemy, and always to wish him
well and, as you can, do well to him who wishes you
ill and who does you harm when he can. Thus one heeds
God's command: "Love your enemies, do good to them
that hate you, and pray for them that persecute
you."(159)
Such counsels are for the perfect sons of God. And
although all the faithful should strive toward them
and through prayer to God and earnest endeavor bring
their souls up to this level, still so high a degree
of goodness is not possible for so great a multitude
as we believe are heard when, in prayer, they say,
"Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors."
Accordingly, it cannot be doubted that the terms of
this pledge are fulfilled if a man, not yet so
perfect that he already loves his enemies, still
forgives from the heart one who has sinned against
him and who now asks his forgiveness. For he surely
seeks forgiveness when he asks for it when he prays,
saying, "As we forgive our debtors." For this means,
"Forgive us our debts when we ask for forgiveness, as
we also forgive our debtors when they ask for
forgiveness."
74. Again, if one seeks forgiveness from a man
against whom he sinned--moved by his sin to seek
it--he should no longer be regarded as an enemy, and
it should not now be as difficult to love him as it
was when he was actively hostile.
Now, a man who does not forgive from the heart one
who asks forgiveness and is repentant of his sins can
in no way suppose that his own sins are forgiven by
the Lord, since the Truth cannot lie, and what hearer
and reader of the gospel has not noted who it was who
said, "I am the Truth"(160)? It is, of course, the
One who, when he was teaching the prayer, strongly
emphasized this sentence which he put in it, saying:
"For if you forgive men their trespasses, your
Heavenly Father will also forgive you your
trespasses. But if you will not forgive men, neither
will your Father forgive you your offenses."(161) He
who is not awakened by such great thundering is not
asleep, but dead. And yet such a word has power to
awaken even the dead. |