“Brethren, let no disagreement remain amongst you seeing that these are the holy days [of Lent]… Maybe you begin to say to yourselves in thought: “I want to make peace but my brother is the one who has offended me… and doesn’t want to come to terms”. What then?… In that case some third parties who are friends of peace should come between you… As for you, be at the ready to pardon, be wholly ready to forgive him his offence with all your heart. If you are prepared to forgive, you have already forgiven.

It still remains for you to pray: pray for that person to ask your pardon since you know it isn’t right for him not to do so. So pray for him…; say to the Lord: “You know I haven’t offended my neighbour… and that it is harming him to have caused me harm; as for me, with all my heart I ask you to forgive him.”

This is what you have to do so as to live in peace with your neighbors…, in order that we may carry out the Paschal feast in tranquillity and peacefully celebrate the Passion of the one who owed nothing to anyone and who repaid debts in the debtors’ place, our Lord Jesus Christ, who offended no one and whom the whole world, so to speak, has offended. He has not exacted punishments but promised rewards… It is he himself whom we take as witness in our hearts: if we have offended someone we are going to ask for pardon; if someone has offended us, we are ready to forgive and to pray for our enemies.” – St. Augustine

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