'Holy
Forgiveness'

"Jesus
Christ awaits our petition, our prayer for the grace to forgive
ourselves and others.
This icon emphasizes
the holiness of the Cross in the Spirit of forgiveness showing
Christ as the source of grace of the act of forgiving."
Robert
Lentz,OFM
image and
text
++++++
"The coming of
the third millennium is a time of renewal.
Traditionally, a jubilee year
is a time to celebrate conversion and the forgiveness of sin.
Forgiveness is healing - of oneself and of others.
It's essential
to look into our hearts now and then to see where we are blocked in
forgiving and then
to ask God for the gift of forgiveness that makes
us whole again.
Unlike a debt of money, which is a matter of
justice, a debt of offense can never be repaid by the one
who
committed it. It has to be forgiven.
Someone who has seriously
offended a spouse, friend, children, or parents can never really
make it
up to the person offended. Only that person can forgive it.
Without forgiveness, the wounded relationship can never be restored
or healed.
Forgiveness is seldom easy.
But lack of forgiveness gnaws
at us, causing us to lose our own sense of who we are called to be.
As God forgives us, we are expected to forgive one another."
"The Blessing of the Catechists"
Margaret Wakefteld
© Copyright 1983
Brother Robert Lentz, ofm.
For color reproductions on cards and gifts, see
Trinity Stores.