(photo by Tom Delaney, Sherburne County, Minnesota, 2025)
Summer blooms on our oak savanna here in central Minnesota are a sight to see every day now. This is a favorite — Purple Prairie Clover (Dalea purpurea).
The Liturgy of the Hours can be a daily routine of prayer that gives you something to think about applying in your own life throughout the day. It’s a way to get focused and I often call it “grist for the mill,” with the idea that the Liturgy of the Hours is a way to introduce thoughts and a way of thinking that can literally change your mind (the old Greek word is μετάνοια or “metanoia”). Over time, the small changes to how you think, and what you think about, really start to stack up. If you stick with it, you will get to a point when you become aware of how your thinking has changed, and how those changes in thinking have also changed your life. If you are looking for a daily routine to introduce more thinking about the sacred, and more awareness of your relationship with God and the people around you, the Liturgy of the Hours is a very good option to try out. It’s good advice from Paul the Evangelist: “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honorable, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things” (Phillipians 4:8).
Today’s morning readings and prayers (or what is called lauds) in the Liturgy of the Hours have a lot to say about forgiveness. Let me give you a short summary of the connections for today:
“I free your shoulder from the burden; your hands were freed from the load” (Psalm 81). Not forgiving – unforgiveness – can be a weight of anger, resentment, and other negative feelings, that truly becomes a burden and a load, mentally and spiritually. We now know form scientific research that it even poses a physical burden and load that is not good for your health! The forgiveness process is a way to relieve yourself from the burden and load of unforgiveness with all of its negative feelings and the impacts of those feelings on your spirituality, mental health, and physical health. In the REACH forgiveness process that I teach and facilitate in presentations, guided retreats, or small group series, one of the exercises we do is a focus and awareness of unforgiveness weighing us down, and then the symbolic act of letting go and experiencing the relief and even lift of that. Let’s keep going…
“Every one of us will have to give an account of himself before God…Let us then make it our aim to work for peace and to strengthen one another” (Romans 14). One of the the reasons people may be interested in learning about forgiveness, and engaging in forgiveness, is a belief that God will ultimately ask you whether or not you forgave, whether or not you made peace, and whether or not you made amends. Paul the Evangelist encourages us to think about this — and maybe even plan ahead! We can think about how the Kingdom of God is a matter of justice, peace and joy, as explained in the words of this letter of Paul to the Romans. Believing in ultimate accountability to God is one reason someone may decide to get into the business of forgiveness, and making themselves into a forgiving person, i.e. someone who forgives. It is a personal choice that also relates to something bigger than being one forgiving person. It relates to building the Kingdom of God on earth with forgiveness, including the justice, peace, and joy that is central to the forgiveness process when it is done right. Next let’s look at a story that provides both an example and an amazing lesson about what’s going on in forgiveness…
“‘Come closer to me…do not be distressed, and do not reproach yourselves..'” (Genesis 44 & 45). The story of Joseph and his brothers is one of the more compelling examples of forgiveness and reconciliation in the Bible. Even after his own brothers conspired to kill him, throwing him into a pit and selling him into years of slavery, Joseph chose to forgive and reconcile with his brothers (Genesis 37). When we read the story closely, we can see that Joseph didn’t choose to forgive his brothers just to be a nice guy about the whole thing — “no hard feelings, right?” The text repeatedly narrates Joseph repeatedly saying, “God sent me…” Joseph clearly had done the homework of changing his mind about what had happened to him and why, and was able to see that it was in fact part of God’s plan that he would be reunited, forgive, and reconcile with his brothers. We’re gong to talk more about “changing your mind” in a little bit, so remember that often used phrase and idea. For now, the lesson in the story is that forgiveness was God’s work happening through Joseph, and it is important to understand that God does earthly work through the forgiveness people give each other. In that same way, the earthly forgiveness that people give each other, is a real reflection of God at work in our world. Keep that idea in your pocket! Let’s take that idea into understanding the words of Jesus Christ, through whom all things were made…
“…’the Kingdom of heaven is at hand'” (Matthew 10). With these words, Jesus Christ sent his disciples into the world to declare that the Kingdom of heaven is not a far off place, but rather is a present reality. It makes sense to see that the Kingdom of heaven is especially at hand because the disciples are doing the things that make the Kingdom of heaven that present reality. People are important for the Kingdom of heaven being at hand, and especially in doing the things that make the Kingdom of heaven — things like forgiveness. Forgiveness is part of the Kingdom of heaven being present and active for both the forgiver and the forgiven. The impacts of that can be thoroughly life changing. Let’s mode to the next reading and see how it explains what happens inside a person that makes forgiveness possible…
“…repent and believe in the Gospel” (Mark 1). John the Baptist’s invitation to repent can be understood when we think about how the word “repent” comes from old Latin words that literally mean “think again.” The old Greek word for it was metanoia (μετάνοια), meaning to change one’s mind. The forgiveness process involves a lot of thinking again, and changing one’s mind. in decisional forgiveness, a person thinks again about a hurt or offense and decides to abstain from further negative thoughts and emotions about the event, perhaps so as to accord with an ideal of faith. The emotional forgiveness that provides a deeper and longer lasting (even permanent) forgiveness requires the critical component of empathy — and moving from resentment, anger, and grief to empathy certainly requires thinking again and changing one’s mind as part of the forgiveness process. Let’s take a look at the next reading, which helps us better understand how forgiveness is the key to understanding and participating in God’s salvation…
“…knowledge of salvation, by the forgiveness of their sins” (Luke 1). This Canticle of Zechariah is a part of the Liturgy of the Hours every morning, of every day. This line from the canticle reminds us that forgiveness can actually teach us a lot about salvation. Through engaging with forgiveness of others, and of ourselves, or being experiencing forgiveness from someone else, we have an amazing opportunity to learn about salvation. It is also profound to consider that salvation is not something you learn about once and then you’re done. The amount there is to know about salvation is practically limitless. It’s God’s salvation that we’re talking about, and as God is beyond any limits, we can consider that knowledge of God’s salvation has no limits as well. What all of that means is that forgiveness is a great way to learn about salvation, the more you engage in forgiveness the more opportunities you have to learn about salvation, and the learning never stops. Now let’s revisit one of the most heard and most important phrases for prayer that Jesus Christ, “God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God,” gifted to all of us when we asked how to pray …
“…and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.” The Lord’s Prayer (or “Pater Noster” in Latin terms), like the Canticle of Zechariah, is a daily part of the morning Liturgy of Hours. Every day this part of the prayer reminds us that forgiveness is so important that Jesus Christ instructed us to engage in forgiveness as part of praying “into” relationship with God. The words are saying that forgiveness is going on — as we are forgiving people, God is also forgiving us. There is a really important connection between God’s forgiveness and the forgiveness we give each other. In the same way that we thought about the Kingdom of heaven being “at hand” through forgiveness, we can understand how forgiveness is related to “Thy kingdom come” as it is beseeched earlier in the Lord’s prayer. Forgiveness is part of the kingdom. Forgiveness makes the kingdom the kingdom, and the kingdom is real.
I hope that this summary of today’s morning Liturgy of the Hours (“lauds”) might help you see the connections of forgiveness with important messages in scripture, as well as your daily experience of your relationship with God through prayer. If you have connections of your own, it would be good to hear from you in the Comments section if you feel like sharing them. Watch here for more posts that link the daily Liturgy of the Hours with what both Catholic faith and research science tells us about forgiveness. Peace and Good, to everyone!
This text is an original work of its author Tom Delaney and was entirely composed without the use of artificial intelligence (AI).
If your parish or faith community is seeking a deeper experience of healing, mercy, and spiritual renewal, Live and Forgive is here to help. To begin the conversation, email Live and Forgive presenter and facilitator Tom Delaney at tom@liveandforgive.com—Tom will be glad to connect with you in a spirit of welcome, respect, and shared faith.
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