***
As a priest, I do not select the readings we hear at Mass. They follow a two-year cycle.
I find it no coincidence then, that as we approach the 19th anniversary of September 11th, we’re given Jesus’ teachings on forgiveness.
“Love your enemies,” he says, “and pray for those who persecute you.”
Is the Lord inviting us to forgive those who’ve hurt us immensely, even if they aren’t sorry?
***
Forgiveness is first and foremost for our own sake.
Countless studies have shown that withholding forgiveness raises our blood pressure, deprives us of sleep, and weakens our immune system. It continues the pain someone else has already caused.
Jesus wants to take that suffering from us. But first we must let our anger go.
This is perhaps what makes forgiveness so hard.
While we have the absolute right to be angry – we have suffered unjustly, countless lives were forever changed – forgiveness means we forfeit the right to be angry.
Only then can the Spirit settle in our hearts and fill us with peace.
***
As it’s written in the Letter of Saint James, “Always act as men and women destined for judgment under the law of freedom.”
In the end, the Lord will hold us all accountable for how generous – or destructive – our lives have been.
May we continue along the path of peace and reconciliation wherever possible, as we entrust the souls of the just to the Lord.