Divine Mercy
Pope St. John Paul II saw forgiveness as a necessary ingredient for peace on earth. In his message for the world of peace in 1997, he said: "Real peace is not just a matter of structures and mechanisms. It rests, above all, on the adoption of a style of human coexistence marked by mutual acceptance and a capacity to forgive from the heart. We all need to be forgiven by others, so we must all be ready to forgive. Asking and granting forgiveness is something profoundly worthy of everyone of us. Forgiveness in its truest and highest form, is a free act of love."
So is there someone who has hurt you so deeply or "beyond pardon"? Are you in a relationship where the differences seem irreconcilable? Have you been betrayed by someone you loved and trusted so much that you are struggling to trust again? Is your life dominated by feelings of anger, disappointment, cynicism, indifference, envy or resentment? Are you giving in to despair? Are your dreams of peace and happiness drifting away and bitterness seems to be taking over? Are you still haunted my the guilt of your past life and you think that all hope is lost? Thanks to the divine proclamation of this year as a year of Mercy by the Holy Father Pope Francis, the door of mercy has been opened in every Dioceses and parishes worldwide. It is a year to receive mercy from the Father of mercies and to show mercy to others and to ourselves. We need the courage to make the first move, not waiting for others.
The infinite magnitude of divine mercy challenges us to forgive one another of our trespasses no matter the harm caused. Refusing to forgive others indicates a lack of gratitude for the blood that was shed for us. The light of God's forgiveness can not shine through our lives when our hearts are locked against forgiving those who have offended us, especially those who do not know, and those who do not care. True discipleship means radically obeying the commands of the Lord to love our brothers and sisters, and to forgive everyone who trespassed against us. It was Lewis B. Smedes who rightly said: "forgiveness happpens inside the person doing the forgiving. It heals our pains and resentments before it does anything for the person we forgive; they might never know about it."
Also, the lords prayer we say: " forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us". We hardly ever think of ourselves. That propably explains why many go about bemoaning the mistakes they made many years ago. There is hardly anyone who hasnt done things they lived to regret, but that is just the consequencies of original sin. This is a great opportunity not only to seek forgiveness for our mistakes and to forgive others, but actually make the decision to forgive ourselves for our past failures, no matter the gravity. If God has forgiven us, why cant we forgive ourselves?
As we pray with St. Faustina saying: Jesus I trust in you", we ask the Lord to grant us the courage to forgive everyone who has offended us, including ourselves Amen!