"Anger, hatred, resentment, bitterness, revenge - they are death-dealing spirits, and the will 'take our lives' on some level. I believe the only way we can be whole, healthy, happy persons is to learn to forgive."
Marietta Jaegger-Lane
Mother of a murdered child
For Reflection:
How have I seen anger, hatred, resentment, bitterness and revenge prove to be death-dealing spirits? Have I let them into my heart in regard to somebody? Am I willing to forgive so as to deal death to them?
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"Guilt is not just the breaking of a love; it is the wounding of someone who is loved."
Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen
For Reflection:
What love does guilt break? Who is the loved one that experiences wounding? How does morbid guilt break a love and wound the loved one?
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"The forgiveness of God is one thing, but the proof that we want that forgiveness is the energy we expend to make amends for the wrong."
Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen
For Reflection:
To what extent do I expend energy to make amends for a wrong to God, to others, to myself? How does this help me reconcile guilt and demonstrate remorse?Â
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"I think that if God forgives us we must forgive ourselves. Otherwise it is almost like setting up ourselves as a higher tribunal than Him."
C. S. Lewis
For Reflection:
Guilt is a good response to sin. Morbid guilt is not. What is the difference between healthy remorse fueled by good guilt and despair fueled by morbid guilt?
( See tomorrow's Grace Line for one way to measure good guilt and healthy remorse.)
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"Our will -freely choosing to hold on to anger, bitterness, resentment, and hostility - becomes an impenetrable fortress preventing God's life from entering our heart, which, through the privation of grace, becomes stony, hard, and cold. This interior reality eventually affects all aspects of our being."
Johnnette Benkovic
For Reflection:
How is our free will an integral part of the forgiveness process? What am I choosing in relation to those who have disappointed, hurt, offended, or injured me? Is my heart stony, hard, and cold toward them? How is this affecting me in other ways?
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Regarding the boy who stabbed her to death when she would not cooperate with his desire to rape her:
"I forgive Alessandro. I forgive him with all my heart; and I want him to be with me in heaven."
St. Maria Goretti
For Reflection:
If this precious young woman can forgive her murderer, who am I to hold on to the offenses committed against me?
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"The saints had no hatred, no bitterness. They forgave everything."
For Reflection:
Do I truly want to be a saint?
(See tomorrow's Grace Line for a young girl who did and proved it.)
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"We should love and feel compassion for those who oppose us, since they harm themselves and do us good, and adorn us with crowns of everlasting glory."
St. Anthony Zaccaria
For Reflection:
I will reflect on this quote and meditate on its wisdom. How does this change my attitude and disposition of heart toward those who offend, injure, or hurt me?
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"An insult is either sustained or destroyed, not by the disposition of those who insult, but in the disposition of those who bear it."
St. John Chrysostom
For Reflection:
St. John Chrysostom gives good advice on how to short-circuit the need to forgive. What is my disposition when I am insulted? Does it "sustain" the insult or "destroy" it? What disposition would destroy it?
(See tomorrow's Grace Line for one saint's suggestion.)
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"You rehearse your brother's trespasses, and forget about you own."
St. Barsanuphius
For Reflection:
What two insights does this saint give us about sabotaging our forgiveness efforts? Do I do these? Today, I will make a conscious effort to stop the thought processes leading to these ends whenever my offender comes to mind.
(Tomorrow's Grace Line gives more help as well.)
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