Forgiveness | A message from Jay

This week I would like to talk about forgiveness. Now, I imagine that most of you can find it in your hearts to forgive someone who has caused you any type of pain. It is not always easy, but a great burden is lifted when you forgive someone and leave the hurt behind. To forgive is a blessing that can heal the world.

But forgiving someone else is not the type of forgiveness that I would like to talk about today. I believe that it is hardest to forgive yourself. In my life I constantly remember things that I may have done or said to someone and wish that I had another opportunity to change decisions that I had made. The guilt that you carry can be like a heavy chain wrapped around you always weighing you down. Much of this comes from caring how your actions may have hurt a person’s feelings. Maybe you were selfish or made a hurtful comment out of anger. Unfortunately it is impossible to reverse what has been done. But through our faith and the beautiful sacrament of confession we know that God forgives us. So we need to understand that if God can forgive us than we should forgive ourselves

What I am saying is please let go of the pain that you can cause yourself by being unable to forgive past transgressions. Reach out to those you may have hurt with love and understanding. Talk to God about your guilt, take a deep breath and live your life in a peaceful way. Forgive yourself and feel the love and comfort of God. You are not alone.

Wisdom from... John

In today's readings we hear from the first letter of John, in which he offers us the ultimate wisdom: remain in the Lord, and reap life from the Lord's annointing.

"Let what you heard from the beginning remain in you. If what you heard from the beginning remains in you, then you will remain in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise that he made us: eternal life. I write you these things about those who would deceive you. As for you, the anointing that you received from him remains in you, so that you do not need anyone to teach you. But his anointing teaches you about everything and is true and not false; just as it taught you, remain in him." 1 John 2:24-27

John's attention to the dichotomy of deceit and truth in these verses and the verses around them serves to identify the truth with Christ, and deceit with the antichrist. Jesus not only offers us the truth; he is the truth. The truth we heard "from the beginning" must remain in us, but John has already told us (in 1 Jn 1:1) that Jesus is the Word of Life, and the Word (which is also referred to by the Church fathers as the Logos, Wisdom, and Reason itself) is "what was from the beginning". In other words, it is Jesus himself that must remain in us, in addition to the words he has spoken to us, because he is the Word that is spoken.