That they may all be one

²⁰ “I do not pray for these only, but also for those who believe in me through their word, ²¹ that they may all be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. John 17:20-21

We pray what we call "The Lord's Prayer" - if we are Catholic, we pray it 6 times whenever we say the Rosary; once when we go to Mass.  We pray, in particular, "...forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us."

That prayer is - or ought to be if we listen to what we are saying - daunting.  We ask for forgiveness as we forgive those who trespass against us.  We are, in fact, asking for the same sort of forgiveness we give others.  Indeed, our Lord gives us this prayer in Matthew's version together with precisely this warning:

⁷ “And in praying do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard for their many words. ⁸ Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. ⁹ Pray then like this:

Our Father who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
¹⁰ Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done,
    On earth as it is in heaven.
¹¹ Give us this day our daily bread;^[b]
12 And forgive us our debts,
    As we also have forgiven our debtors;
¹³ And lead us not into temptation,
    But deliver us from evil.^[c]

¹⁴ For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father also will forgive you; ¹⁵ but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.  (Matthew 6:7-15)

Trespasses ...  There are, of course, big deals.  The woman who is raped has been trespassed against.  Those who love her have been trespassed against.  These are terrible things to be told to forgive.  Yet, for most of us most of the time, it is the tinny squeaky rhythmic sounds coming from the earphones of the person on the train; the thoughtless sarcasm of the family member; the car on the motorway dodging dangerously in front - these are the trespasses that must be forgiven.

If I do not forgive these trespasses, neither will mine against my Father be forgiven.

Why is this?  Is it that God could, if He chose, forgive me whilst I am not at one with my neighbor?

God is absolute unity of Being - and His Being is love.  God is a Trinity of Persons Whose mutual love is infinite.  There can be no slightest disunity in God.

And we are called to be united with that awful unity of love - all of us are called.  It is not that God arbitrarily wills that we forgive - forgive absolutely and love without reservations everyone who trespasses against us (and who is there who does not in some way trespass against me?); it is that the unity of love to which we are called just is that forgiving-and-being-forgiven state.  To the degree I am other than absolute in loving you and seeking your good, to that degree I am outside of that unity - outside of God.

God grant that each of us may respond to the grace given us that enables us to forgive - to be one.