Welcome to The Examine, your daily prayer hosted by Father James Martin and brought to you by America Media, a Jesuit ministry.

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notes. I'm Father Jim Martin. I'm about to lead you through a traditional Jesuit prayer

that will help you notice where God has been in your day. But first, let's begin with our

weekly reflection, which is released every Sunday. Here's something that we haven't talked about

in this podcast, forgiveness. Now, I know we usually talk about ways to pray and the liturgical year,

but I would guess that God would also like us to talk about reconciliation. After all,

what good is doing the daily examine every day if you are still holding a grudge against someone?

Now, don't misunderstand me. I know what it's like both to be angry

at someone and to have someone be angry at me. My life and my Jesuit life are not free of the

need for forgiveness and reconciliation. I've also seen in other people's lives what happens when

a person or a couple or a group refuses to forgive.

It's a miserable situation.

This may be one reason why Jesus stressed forgiveness over and over in his public ministry.

After all, he forgave his executioners from the cross.

We've all seen stories in the newspaper online and on TV about remarkable acts of forgiveness.

During a courtroom trial, the parent of a murder victim forgives and hugs the murderers.

You may remember the story from several years ago about an Amish community that forgave a man who had murdered

several of their community members. There's a reason why our hearts are so moved by these

stories. It's because they show us something of the divine spark in humanity. Your being moved

...