Fr. Callistus Homily

My beloved People of St. Mark, our gospel passage for this week deals with a subject which concerns us all-Forgiveness. Notice the dialogue between Jesus and Peter. Peter asked Jesus “Lord if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him; as many as seven times?” Jesus answered “I say to you not seven times but seventy times seven times.”
          One time I was given a talk to a group of people about forgiveness and when I finished speaking someone stood up and said to me “Father I have been married for more than 40 years and I have forgiven my spouse more than 70 times already.” I think when Jesus said Seventy times; he meant that forgiveness must be unlimited.

GOD’S GRACE HELPS US FORGIVE

          Brothers and sisters, none of us can go through life without getting hurt. There is no point in being glib about forgiveness or pretending it is easy. It is never easy. Without the grace of God, it is sometimes impossible to forgive.  When we get hurt, we naturally grow resentful and bitter. Resentment and bitterness are very dangerous things and we cannot be healed of them unless we forgive. This is precisely what our 1 ^st reading from the book of Sirach talks about “Wrath and anger are hateful things; the vengeful will suffer the Lord’s vengeance. Forgive your neighbor, then when you pray, your own sins will be forgiven.”
          We all need to forgive because at one time or another, we all have been hurt. But what can we do? We must realize that forgiveness cannot be achieved overnight. It is not something that happens in one go. Forgiveness is a process, and like all processes it takes time. There are steps we can take, which, with the grace of God, will lead to forgiveness and healing of the hurt.

STEPS TO FORGIVENESS

          First, we must recognize that a wrong has been done to us. There is no point in pretending it didn’t happen. None of us can go through life without getting hurt but how we cope with hurts can provide us with an opportunity to grow or they can become a stumbling block to our human and spiritual development.
          We must recognize that we have feelings about this- feelings of anger and hurt. These feelings are not sins in themselves in fact they are natural and healthy. We should talk about these feelings. If we can’t do this with the person who has hurt us we should do it with someone else.
          Then at some point we make a decision to forgive. Forgiveness is an act of the will. But this doesn’t mean that feelings of hurt and bitterness will suddenly disappear. The healing of these will take time.
          Finally, we have to make a decision about our relationship with the person who has hurt us. Here we have three choices. To continue it, break it off for a while, or discontinue it altogether. Reconciliation is not always possible. It takes two to be reconciled.  
          Unless we forgive, we ourselves will not be forgiven. It isn’t that God is vindictive. It is rather that if we do not forgive others we make it impossible for ourselves to receive God’s forgiveness. Imagine two people living in the same room, one of whom closes the blind because he doesn’t want the other to enjoy the sunlight. But in so doing he also deprives himself of the sunlight. Forgive your neighbor, then when you pray, your own sins will be forgiven.”
          It is not a question of forgiving if and when the offender repents. We are expected to forgive even if the offender doesn’t repent- that is what makes it so difficult and why we need God’s grace to forgive. Today I invite you to pray for the gift of forgiveness. Unless we forgive, we will not be able to let go of bitterness and resentment, and so will not know peace or healing. Forgiveness doesn’t mean forgetting, it means remembering and letting go. Forgiveness is a holy task. Only God can help us accomplish it fully.   

THE EXAMPLE OF POPE JOHNPAUL II

          On May 13 1981, as Pope John Paul II rode in an open car across the St. Peter’s Square, Mehmet Ali Agca shot him four times. He collapsed on his seat in excruciating pain. He was taken to the hospital and no one was sure the Pope was going to live. He had series of surgeries and God’s grace worked through the doctors and he was back on his feet again. One of the first things Pope John Paul II did was that on Christmas Day of the same year, he went to the prison and visited Mehmet Ali. The Pope forgave him for attempting to murder him. He writes “We talked for a long time. Ali is as everyone says, a professional assassin, which means that the assassination was not his initiative that someone else thought of it and someone else gave the order. I had a feeling I would survive. I was in pain I had reason to be afraid, but I had this strange feeling of confidence … Oh my Lord! This was difficult for me.” [1] For some minutes they sat close together in a corner of the cell. Pope John Paul II says; “What we talked about will have to remain a secret between him and me, I spoke to him as a brother whom I had pardoned and who had my complete trust.” [2] While he was leaving the prison, Pope John Paul II embraced him, gave him a white box and a silver rosary. He embraced his enemy and pardoned him. Forgiveness brings about a conversion of heart. When Pope John Paul II was at the Gemeli hospital, this time with flu a year later, Ali Mehmet is said to have sent him a hand written letter, wishing him a speedy recovery. Pope John Paul II was canonized on April 27, 2014 in the St. Peter’s Square Rome.
          When we forgive we free ourselves of the burden of bitterness, and we free the other person of the burden of guilt. But our forgiveness must come from the heart, which means it must be true, sincere and warm. A cold forgiveness is not much use. Forgiveness should start now. Putting it off only deepens the wound, prolongs bitterness and postpones happiness. Life is short and time is fleeting. Today is the day to forgive. Lord deliver us from the poison of bitterness, and give us the grace to forgive from the heart those who have offended us. Then we will know the warmth of your forgiveness.