"Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us." "Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy." These words link the experience of being forgiven and the obligation to forgive. In today's first reading we see how forgiving the forgiven Peter has become.

Peter once asked Jesus how often we must forgive. He himself, fell grievously. But now, after his restoration to the love of Jesus and the primacy of the Church, Peter is filled with a new sense of mercy. Was Pilate really as ready as Peter says to release Jesus? Were the Jews who killed Jesus really acting only out of ignorance? To ask and to pursue such questions may be of importance in scholarly Biblical studies. But in our ordinary Christian lives such questions have no place, for they drive us to assume the role of judge.

Rather, we must learn to look with the eyes of mercy and love. We are all like Peter in that we are forgiven sinners. Let us pray that we shall also be like him in his readiness to forgive, for penance for the remission of sins is to be preached to all nations, and we can help preach that message by being forgiving and loving people.