I went to Mass this morning and it got me thinking. Dangerous, right? But yeah.

Jesus asks us in the Our Father to pray to be forgiven as we forgive. That’s a big ask. That puts a heck of a responsibility on us. A little scary, in fact. He’s telling us, “Pray, forgive, be forgiven.” Easy words, right? Not so fast. That’s heavy. That’s real. That’s responsibility. You want to be forgiven? You gotta forgive. No loopholes, no exceptions. That’s the deal. It’s not a free pass. It’s a contract. It’s tough. It’s gritty.

You want God to be merciful towards you? Then be merciful to your parents, your siblings, your neighbors, even the one you can’t stand.

And when we pray the St. Michael prayer we ask to be defended in battle. We don’t ask to have the fight fought for us. We ask to be defended, sure. To have the fight fought for us? No. That’s not it. We ask to stand in the battle. To be armed. To hold our ground. We’re not asking for the easy way out. We’re asking for strength to face the fight. Because the fight’s coming. It always is. So it’s simple, but it’s not easy. It’s a call to arms inside us, outside us.

Forgive as you’re forgiven. Fight as you’re prepared to stand. No shirking. No hiding. That’s the truth. That’s the deal. Man, I love Catholicism. High stakes stuff.