The petition that commits you

The Our Father has a petition that turns back on the one praying it: "forgive us as we also forgive." You ask for the others without conditions; this one you sign with your own conduct. You are asking God to treat you as you treat those who fail you. It is not a threat, it is an underlying truth: if you clench your fist against someone who hurt you, that same fist cannot open to receive forgiveness. Harboring resentment leaves your heart impermeable, even to the love of God. That is why forgiving is not a pious extra: it is what keeps open the door through which you yourself are forgiven. It does not always work on the first try; but every time you let go of a little resentment, you make room to be forgiven yourself.