A six year old boy was overheard reciting the Our Father at church one service. And forgive us our trash passes as we forgive those who pass trash against us. Now speaking of forgiveness… A little Filipino girl said she had talked to Jesus. And people in her village began to get very excited about this. Then word got around to some of the neighboring villages and other people got excited about the little girl speaking to Jesus. Finally, word got to the Bishop’s Palace in Manila. The bishop became somewhat concerned. So he appointed a Monseigneur to investigate the case. The little girl was brought in to the Bishop’s Palace for a series of psychological testing and psychological interviews. At the end of the third interview, the Monseigneur threw up his hands and said to the little girl “I don’t know what to make of this entire case, I don’t know if you are for real or not. But there is one acid test. The next time you talk to Jesus, I want you to ask him what I confessed to at my last confession. Would you do that?” The little girl said she would. So she went away and came back for interview the following week. And with eagerness the Monseigneur asked her “So my dear little girl, did you talk to Jesus again this past week?” She said “yes, Monseigneur, I did.” “And when you talked to Jesus this past week, did you remember to ask him what I confessed in my last confession?” “Yes, Monseigneur, I did.” “Well, what did Jesus say?” The little girl answered “Jesus said ‘I’ve forgotten.'” God is more eager to forgive us than we are then to even ask for forgiveness. The Lord says “get on with life.” Know this. God loves us, and God forgives us. Always and unconditionally. And the Lord says “I love you. I forgive you. And I’ve forgotten.” And the Lord moves on. And God knows us better than we know ourselves. And God forgives us whether we can ever forgive ourselves. What are those areas in your life that keep you from being the person you want to be? Are we able to forgive ourselves? We walk around with excess baggage. We let the Lord forgive us. Forgiving and seeking forgiveness are ways to stop hurting. A beautiful line from Cardinal Cupich “Forgiving doesn’t change the past, it changes the future. Forgiving doesn’t change the past, it changes the future.