Which is the most important line in the Lord’s Prayer? “Thy will be done?” “Give us this day our daily bread?” The way that St. Matthew introduces the Lord’s prayer suggests a different line. To the prayer itself Jesus adds this appendix: “If you forgive men their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you.” In other words Jesus chooses to emphasize this line: forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. It makes sense to highlight this phrase in light of the Great Commandment to love God and love our neighbor. The love command sees love of God and neighbor as two sides of the same coin. As. St. John puts it in his epistle: For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen (1 John 4:20). Forgiveness is the heart of our prayer since it is the royal road to love.
