The Power of Forgiveness
The Power of Forgiveness
One of God's better jokes on us was to give us the power to remember the past and leave us no power to undo it. It would give us some comfort if only we could forget a hurt from the past that we cannot change. But our inability to forget is a cross we bear, inflicted by people who did us wrong. If we could choose to forget the cruelest moments, as time goes on, we could free ourselves from this pain.
But the wrong, the hurt, sticks like a thorn in our memory. The only way to remove this thorn is with the surgical procedure called forgiveness. It is not as though forgiving were the remedy of choice among other options. Forgiveness is the only remedy.
Sometimes, instead of trying to forgive, we choose to drink the poison of anger and resentment. We may justify our feelings by defending our right for justice or fear of showing weakness, but underneath it all is our pride.
Two things to know about forgiveness:
Forgiveness is a process that takes time. It may take years to forgive someone who has wounded us deeply.
Forgiveness is a grace that we need to pray for. We need to ask for God’s help to forgive.
Fr. Tony Rauschuber, S.J.
Adapted from The Art of Forgiveness