We see God's love and mercy in
Christ's death on Calvary, expressed in the Trinitarian love symbolized in the
Cross. Each time we make the sign of the Cross, we are reminded of the fact that
it was upon the Wood of the Cross that the Good Lord won salvation for us. Thus,
the Cross is a symbol of love, mercy, victory, transformation and forgiveness.
The sign of the Cross is a reminder of God the Father's love for us, God the
Son's mercy and willingness to come and die for us and the strength of God the
Holy Spirit that renews the face of the earth. Even though forgiveness is as old
as creation (Genesis 3), its most powerful and ultimate effect is felt on
Calvary. Christ's death and resurrection give forgiveness it full meaning and
significance. Thus after the Resurrection, Christ gave His Apostles the power to
forgive sins. This acknowledgement of the forgiveness of sins is part of what we
profess in the Apostle's Creed. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds
us,
"The Apostle's Creed associates faith in the
forgiveness of sins not only with faith in the Holy Spirit, but also with faith
in the Church and in the communion of saints. It was when he gave the Holy
Spirit to his apostles that the risen Christ conferred on them his own divine
power to forgive sins: "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any,
they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained" (No. 976).
Forgiveness therefore forms part of the core of our
faith, for without it, there can be no love and mercy. Jesus' injunction to His
Apostles to continue this tradition of forgiveness (John 20:23) is assurance of
God's constant desire for the good of mankind, to fix and heal whatever
separates us from God and from one another. For this reason, God did not abandon
man to his own fate after the Fall, but gave him the chance to return to God.
This act of forgiveness is fulfilled in Jesus' new command to "love one another"
(John 13:34).
Our celebration of Divine Mercy Sunday on the Sunday
immediately after Easter Sunday is very significant. Jesus' gift of His open
Heart to us reassures us that God is always ready to forgive us, even before we
ask. The nine-day novena preparation for this Feast, which begins on Good
Friday, gives us the exclusive opportunity to unite our pains and sufferings
with those of Christ, while we offer our sins to be nailed forever on the Cross
once and for all. The various intentions for each day of the said novena reflect
the totality of the needs of the human race and how Jesus continues to yearn for
our souls to be saved.
We would not be beneficiaries of this grace
today without the participation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. She played and
continues to play a vital role in the history of our salvation. Because of
her love for God, she answered positively to His request in her fiat at the
Annunciation. This enabled Christ to be born into our sinful world, so that
He could die for our sins and redeem us, thus expressing God's forgiveness
for mankind. The message of the Annunciation is therefore, not only about
the good news of the birth of Christ, but it is also one of forgiveness,
revealing to us the why, how, when and where of His coming as we follow the
entire story of the Nativity. The Almighty has shown us love and granted us
forgiveness, so it is our duty too to love and forgive one another. This is
what we are called to do as brothers and sisters in Christ. A good example
for us to reflect on would be the Jesus' encounter with the sinful woman at
Simon the Pharisee's home in Luke 7: 36-50.
There are several lessons we learn from this
experience. First and foremost, God is omniscient and He knows our thoughts
and needs even before we express them or ask for any favors from Him. We see
this when Jesus reads Simon's mind. Here, the latter is being judgmental
about the sinful woman. This is a clear indication that we should not be
prejudiced against others in casting the first stone (John 8:7), especially
if we do not know what their sin may be; for there is none without sin. In
the same vein, Jesus is able to determine the sinful woman's state of mind
to know that she is repentant. Hence, the outpouring of her tears. We notice
that through out, she does not utter a word, but she communicates her inner
feelings through her actions. As the saying goes, "actions speak louder than
words". The psychological impact of the act of forgiveness is very
important, because both the person who forgives and the one who is forgiven
should be on the same page and share the same amount of emotional relief,
healing and peace, for the Sacrament of Reconciliation is one that makes us
whole again. When we sin against God, we become repentant and go to
confession. When we hurt each other, we should sought out our differences
before going to confession and before presenting ourselves in front of the
Lord, for "If you bring your gift to God at the altar and there you remember
that your brother has something against you, leave your gift at the altar,
go at once and make peace with your brother, and then come back and offer
your gift to God" (Matthew 5: 23-24). Eventually, we become what we think.
No matter how we direct our thoughts and actions, whether positively or
negatively, by virtue or by vice, it becomes a habitus, part and parcel of
our being since we do it repeatedly.
It is important to note that love goes with
forgiveness. This comes out in the brief parable about the moneylender and
his two debtors. In the same way, we are indebted to God and we cannot pay
Him back, especially for Christ's ultimate sacrifice on the Cross, so we
have to "Do whatever he tells … [us]" (John 2:5). We too should show love,
mercy and forgiveness to one another so that our petition in the Our Father
- "… forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us"
- becomes more meaningful. We are therefore called to love God back and love
one another as the new commandment given to us by Christ. We should be
grateful at all times. This explains the conscious state of mind of the
sinful woman in Luke's Gospel. The writer does not name her nor does he tell
us what her sins are. This makes it a global transformation for all. As
such, we too should be conscious of our sins and be truly sorry for them.
One important aspect is that God is ever ready to forgive us even before we
ask, since He sees our hearts as He "… has shown us how much he loves us -
it was while we were still sinners that Christ died for us!" (Romans 5:8).
Both the sinful woman's tears and the jar of
perfume are symbolic as they remind us of two important symbols of our
Baptism - water and oil (anointing). The waters of Baptism wash away our
sins while the oil strengthens us. Her tears are however, silent tears of
joy and thanksgiving, rejoicing to know that her sins have been forgiven,
for she had witnessed the wonders of the Lord: "I tell you, then, the great
love she has shown proves that her many sins have been forgiven. … Your
faith has saved you; go in peace" (Luke 7: 47, 50). We too have been
forgiven a debt we can never pay back. We all must have had a joyful
experience, at least once, when we could not hold back tears, may be a
graduation, a new baby into the family, an appointment or some other
significant success or achievement in life. But most often, we do not pay
much attention to the fact that forgiveness from God is also an occasion to
give thanks to God and shed tears of joy, for we are made whole once again,
not only with God, but also with the communion of saints, with Mother Church
and with one another. When we forgive and are forgiven, we experience joy,
love peace and a deep sense of healing and wholeness again.
Another good example of forgiveness and love for
us to meditate on is the relationship between Jesus and Peter, before and
after the Passion. We know that Peter denied Jesus three times and was truly
sorry for it. Peter also shed tears as he "… went out and wept bitterly"
(Luke 22: 62), but they were tears of sorrow, tears of repentance. Jesus
wipes away his tears after the Resurrection by asking Peter three times as
well: "Do you love me?" (John 21: 15-17). Thus, the Lord undoes the
three-time denial before the Crucifixion. Again, we see in this encounter
that Jesus does not wait for Peter to bring up the subject, to either
apologize or ask for forgiveness. Peter's tears a few days before were
enough for Jesus to know that he was sincerely remorseful for denying Him.
Consequently, the Apostle is given a great responsibility, that of looking
after the Lord's sheep.
We have to admit here that for us humans, forgiveness
is not an easy task. But there are so many repeated examples in Scripture,
Tradition and in our society that should give us the impetus to follow the
Lord's example. The most difficult part is that it is not easy; it is not
spontaneous for us to simply forgive one another. That is why we have to
keep working at it, especially through constant prayer and meditation of
Scripture. The Holy Spirit is always there, ever ready to inspire and
strengthen us to continue to forgive. Only then would the world be a better
and safer place; only then would we feel the renewal of the face of the
earth. We require the full measure of forgiveness prescribed for us in Luke
17: 3-4: "If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him.
If he sins against you seven times in one day, and each time he comes to you
saying, 'I repent,' you must forgive him." Loving means forgiving and
praying for our enemies, those who hate and persecute us. By so doing, we
fulfill the new law of love. Like Jesus, our forgiving others ought to be
spontaneous.
We need the virtue of humility to lead us to first of
all realize our sins and ask for God's forgiveness. This will open us up to
be able to forgive others as well. All of this must be sustained by prayer
and the willingness to be part of this great sacrifice, for we give up so
much of ourselves each time we forgive someone else to the glory of God.
Thus, we grow in spirituality. It is only by God's grace that the voice of
the gift of FORGIVENESS that speaks for itself in the following words would
be meaningful:
Fortitude is yours, so that
Openness of heart leads you to
Receive God's grace in your life in order to
Give back by forgiving others.
Invite Christ into your life and
Visit the Blessed Sacrament often to contemplate the presence of the
forgiving Lord made present to us in the
Eucharist - thanksgiving. So, attend Mass often and
Never miss a chance for the Sacrament of Reconciliation/Confession.
Entrust yourself to Mary for she is full of grace and
Sin no more so that a pure heart can
Sing God's praises forever. Amen.
Vunda Moutchia can be contacted at: 215.474.3914;
vmoutchia@yahoo.com;
catholiccaf@yahoo.com;
www.catholiccaf.blogspot.com.
