Forgiveness-
to give up resentment of or
claim to requital for ....forgive an insult.
Resentment, anger, wrath,
bitterness are all results of an unforgiving heart. Harboring these emotions
lead to a raging fire in your soul and ultimately end up burning you.
Holding grudges against someone is like keeping a monster in your closet.
A scary monster which we choose to keep alive.
With God’s help we have the power to choose to put the monster to rest and find
a peace in our hearts.
To be forgiving is to
eliminate all desire for revenge and personal ill will toward those who deeply
wrong or betray us. This brings an inner peace. Forgiving is different from excusing,
pardoning, accepting and understanding.
Forgiveness
is repeated over and over again throughout the bible, but here are a few key
verses to ponder...
Matthew 6:14-15 - If you forgive others their transgressions, your
heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, neither
will your Father forgive your transgressions.
Ephesians
Sirach 28:2 -
Forgive your neighbor's injustice; then when you pray, your own sins will be
forgiven.
Luke
And lets
not forget who will ultimately forgive US
Colossians
WORDS TO LIVE BY.....2840 Now
- and this is daunting - this outpouring of mercy cannot penetrate our hearts
as long as we have not forgiven those who have trespassed against us. Love,
like the Body of Christ, is indivisible; we cannot love the God we cannot see
if we do not love the brother or sister we do see.136 In refusing to
forgive our brothers and sisters, our hearts are closed and their hardness
makes them impervious to the Father's merciful love; but in confessing our
sins, our hearts are opened to his grace. -Catechism of the
Catholic Church #2840
Check
out what else our Catechism teaches us about forgiveness