(or, and now for something completely different)
When on a (largely) Catholic message board, you are going to read Catholic prayers. I have no issue with this at all - though I'm not Catholic, I have a number of relatives who are. I've been in some vehemently anti-Catholic churches, and I've heard enough "Whore of Babylon" sermons to last my whole life. So no lectures - I'm not posting this to hear how wrong they are, that the Pope is the anti-Christ, or anything of that nature.
Now, all that being said, one of the prayers I've seen on the board is the Fatima prayer - "O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to Heaven, especially those in most need of Thy mercy. Amen." That last half of it really struck me as being an incredibly powerful statement.
(No arguments on "not everyone will go to Heaven". I know. This isn't about stating that everyone will, any more than praying for any particular thing is a statement that you know you'll get it. I am *not* a prosperity gospel/"Claim that Mercedes in faith" type. It's expressing a desire that everyone would/could - even though we know, unfortunately, that's not gonna happen, as scripture states that there will be some cast out - the sheep and goats parable, for one.)
Most Christians of any type can say the Lord's Prayer from memory, and know the "forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us" part (or debts/debtors, etc.). And forgiving *is* a profound thing to do. Yes, it can be done in the wrong spirit - the gleeful "heaping coals on their heads" type of thing - but properly done, it can be extraordinarily difficult, especially when forgiving those who cannot or will not ask forgiveness.
But.
I think that last part of the Fatima prayer takes it another step further - in a sense, it shows complete forgiveness - wanting that person who has wronged you to be able to experience heaven as well.
The example that comes to mind is Jeffrey Dahmer. It's said that he converted in prison - or perhaps it was more of a reconciliation - but regardless, that he came to what most Christians would recognize as salvation, including baptism. It's one thing to (as unimaginably difficult as it would be) come to a point of forgiving him if he had killed a loved one. But to honestly pray that you hoped to see him in heaven? That, as I imagine it, is forgiveness perfected.
Definitely something to be learned from that prayer.
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2 comments:
I absolutely love it while doing the Rosary. That's one of my favorites. Sometimes I think about the fact that we should want everyone to get to Heaven. God wants everyone to get to Heaven. Pray for them all, and those in most need of mercy are exactly the ones who are going to require Jesus to lead them to salvation.
It's odd to think of wanting to be able to greet some of the "worst of the worst" as Brother/Sister (name) - a protestant thing, I know, referring to someone in that way. But perhaps it's more telling on the way we view ourselves as better than someone else b/c we haven't done XYZ - when we have to remember that our human best still is not good enough - and if we think we're so much better than someone else, even someone who has clearly done some atrocious things - well, still, we all still come up woefully short. All our righteousness is as filthy rags, etc.
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