» Forgiveness and Redemption

The Liberating Power of Forgiveness

Written by on March 12, 2010 - 10 Comments

“Pardon one another so that later on you will not remember the injury.  The recollection of an injury is…a rusty arrow and poison for the soul.” — St. Francis of Paola

In her powerful book, Left to Tell, Immaculee Ilibagiza recounts her amazing survival story amid the horrific 1994 Rwandan genocide.  When the genocide began, her father, desiring to protect her, sent her to the home of a friend, a Protestant pastor. The pastor hid Immaculee along with six other women in a tiny bathroom.  There they remained for 91 days until it was safe to leave.

Immaculee recounts the horror of those three months, including the murder of her family (except one brother).  But she also shares her journey of faith and forgiveness, for it was in that crammed space where she came to know the Lord’s presence, love, and forgiveness in a life-changing way.

After the genocide, Immaculee returned to her village.  While there, she went to a prison and visited the man who was responsible for the killing of her family.  When she met him she reached out, touched his hand, looked him in the eye and said, “I forgive you.” He broke down in tears. Read more »

So You Failed. Now What?

Written by on March 2, 2010 - 19 Comments

“So you’ve failed?  You–be convinced of it–can never fail.  You haven’t failed; you’ve acquired experience.  Forward!” — St. Josemaria Escriva

It’s a horrible feeling. You’ve just had a big fall:
• You abandoned your Lenten resolution.
• You lashed out in anger at your spouse.
• You became apoplectic as you sat in a traffic jam, dropping f-bombs like there’s no tomorrow.
• You committed what you consider to be a serious sin against your state in life.
• You fell off the wagon.

You’ve failed. You feel defeated. And now that voice in your head is telling you that you’re no good, that you’ll never be good, that as hard as you try you will never change those bad habits and sins that have plagued you for what seems like your whole life.

And what has just happened is that you’ve played into the devil’s hands: You’ve become more deeply immersed in yourself; you’re naval-gazing; and you’ve completely forgotten that there’s a reason why you call Jesus Christ your SAVIOR. Read more »

Can Tiger Be Good Again?

Written by on December 7, 2009 - 6 Comments

On this blog I have not made it a habit to venture into the world of current affairs, but if you haven’t noticed Tiger Woods has been in the news quite a bit lately, and it’s not because he won another big tournament.  In fact, he experienced the biggest loss of his career: his pristine reputation.  On a deeper level, however, it’s more than a loss of his reputation; it’s an utter failure to live his marriage vows and to be the father and man he’s supposed to be.

Admittedly, I’ve always been a huge Tiger fan.  I greatly admire his talent and—until last week—always respected the way he carried himself. Read more »

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