HOLY WEEK AND FORGIVENESS: Forgiveness is not acceptance; I forgive what I cannot accept.  Forgiveness is not tolerance; I forgive what I cannot tolerate.  Forgiveness is not forgetting; I forgive what I cannot forget.

This week we remember all that Jesus endured to secure the forgiveness of our sins and to open the entrance to eternal life. “By His suffering, we are freed from sin. By His death and resurrection, we are freed from death.”  We believe in our forgiveness of sins.  He hope for eternal life. We know that we are underserving.  We trust that God’s words to us are true.

Yet…

We find it hard to forgive. We do not want mercy for those who harm us.  We know we are justified in our feelings.  There is a backside to God’s mercy for us.  We in turn must show mercy.  We in turn must forgive (“forgive us our sins AS WE FORGIVE THOSE WHO SIN AGAINST US).  We in turn must not judge.  And that can be so hard.

It can so hard to forgive when the offense is ongoing.  It can be so hard to forgive when the other doesn’t think they have done anything wrong.  It can be so hard to forgive when the pain of betrayal is fresh and ongoing.  It eats at us.  It causes us to lose sleep.  It makes our stress level go through the roof.  We become impatient and cross in turn with others.

Yet…

We have to forgive for our own sakes.  If we do not forgive it will eat us from the inside out.  The offender doesn’t know how it affects us.  We only hurt ourselves and God does not want that.  God wants us whole and at peace, which is why He forgives us in the first place.  His mercy gives us the grace to in turn forgive.  As the above quote says: Forgiveness is not acceptance; I forgive what I cannot accept.  Forgiveness is not tolerance; I forgive what I cannot tolerate.  Forgiveness is not forgetting; I forgive what I cannot forget. This week, as we pray for our sins to be forgiven, let us also pray for the grace to forgive others.  Or, if we are not there yet, pray for the grace to some day forgive.

We have to.  For our own sake