“To err is human; to forgive divine.”
Alexander Pope
For Reflection:
According to this quote, am I acting “divinely?” What resolution can I make for the coming new year in light of my answer?
Author Archives: Johnnette Benkovic Williams
Forgiveness: “No punishment can suppress…”
“No punishment can suppress the inalienable dignity of those who have committed evil. The door to repentance and rehabilitation must always remain open.”
Pope John Paul the Great
For Reflection: To what extent do I keep the door to repentance and rehabilitation open for those who have injured me? Am I seeking to repent and rehabilitate in light of those to whom I have caused injury?
Forgiveness: “If you do not receive him who repents…”
“If you do not receive him who repents, because you are merciless, you sin against the Lord God; for you do not obey Our Lord and God in acting as He acted.”
Anonymous
For Reflection:
How well do I act as Our Lord and God acted in light of mercy?
Returning Love for Love
Yesterday, we celebrated the feast day of St. John the Evangelist who in his writings
often referred to himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved. There was a
beautiful relationship of filial love between St. John and Our Lord, a love
that we should all be striving for.
On yesterday’s Women of Grace Live radio, I shared some reflections from today’s Divine Intimacy meditation in which Fr. Gabriel of Saint Mary Magdalen, OCD, offered a powerful reflection about love. He tells us that Our Lord revealed His Love for us by the very fact that He concealed His divinity, His majesty, His power, and His infinite wisdom to assume our human nature. The Divine Infant was completely dependent upon a creature, though He was God, the Word was made flesh for our sake, and was born of a virgin.
Fr. Gabriel then goes on to issue a challenge. He says, “Let us try to understand
this mystery in order to apply it to our poor lives.” He later continues,
“To repay His infinite love, to prove our love for Him, let us resolve to
strip ourselves generously of everything that could hinder our union with Him;
above all, let us divest ourselves of self-love, pride, vanity, all our
righteous pretensions. What a striking contrast between these vain pretenses of
our “ego” and the touching humility of the Incarnate Word!”
Let us take time during this holy season of Christmas to really ponder the
mysteries of the Incarnation. How can we divest ourselves of the things that
hinder our union with God? It is truly a call to a deep ascenticism.
Perhaps take time to meditate upon an image or statue of the Nativity scene, such as
the one depicted here which so strikingly displays the humility of that moment
of great love, God becoming flesh and dwelling among us. Then allow the mystery
of that great love to reveal itself and come alive in your life in a deeper way
than ever before through the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit.
“Who would not love Him who loves us so much?”
Forgiveness: “We need to smooth off the rough edges a little more each day…
“We need to smooth off the rough edges a little more each day [to] get rid of the defects in our own lives with a spirit of penance, with small mortifications. Jesus Christ will later make up for whatever is still lacking.”
St. Josemaria Escriva
For Reflection:
How does seeking forgiveness from others help to smooth off rough edges?
Forgiveness: “What should characterize our behavior when we ask for pardon? …
“What should characterize our behavior when we ask for pardon? Humility, contriteness of heart, no defensiveness or rationalization of our behavior, no rehashing the argument, no expectation on the reaction we will receive, surrender of the outcome to God.”
Johnnette Benkovic
For Reflection:
Am I willing to apply these characteristics to my behavior when I ask for forgiveness? Why or why not? Which virtue do I need to acquire to do so?Â
Forgiveness: “Create in me a clean heart, O God…
“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.”
Psalm 51: 10,17
For Reflection:
This passage gives us the two characteristics necessary for true contrition – a broken and contrite heart. Is there someone whom I have offended? Are these two characteristics present in me in relation to that person? In light of this, what should I do?
Forgiveness: “For the individual who has been injured…
“For the individual who has been injured through the actions of another, it is important to find meaning in the suffering. Such a perspective infuses value and worth into the heartache of the injury sustained. It reminds us that God has a plan in all things and works all things to the good.”
Johnnette Benkovic
For Reflection:
How have I seen God work good out of the sufferings I have endured because of the actions of others? Can I then see this suffering as a blessing and not a curse?
Forgiveness: “For God so loved the world…
“For God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son that everyone who believed in Him might not perish but have life everlasting.”
John 3:16
For Reflection:
quote from Scripture tells us that God loves everyone. If God loves everyone, what right do I have to hold on to hatred and resentment? During this holy season, am I willing to forgive and to ask for forgiveness? With whom should I begin?
Forgiveness: “Anger, hatred, resentment, bitterness, revenge…
“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?
