Marian Helper Fall 2015

road in the same place where her son had been found. “Without hesitation, she took him home to tend his wounds,” said Marcela. “When this man saw the pictures of her dead son, he said, ‘Do you know this man? We killed him last week.’ Pastora said she felt her world collapsing, but asked the Virgin Mary to cover her ears to the words of this man and not let her heart be filled with hate. Pastora begged the Mother of God to help her forgive those who killed her son. And so Pastora, with love and dedication, cared for the murderer of her child. She said that she loved this man so much that, several years later, when he was unfortunately killed, she felt it like the loss of a child.” Now, forgiveness isn’t always as dramatic as Pastora’s story. As C.S. Lewis put it in his Essay on Forgiveness , “It is perhaps not so hard to forgive a single great injury. But to forgive the incessant provo- cations of daily life — to keep on forgiving the bossy mother-in-law, the bullying husband, the nagging wife, the selfish daughter, the deceitful son — how can we do it? Only, I think, by remembering where we stand, by meaning our words when we say in our prayers each night ‘Forgive our trespasses as we for- give those that trespass against us.’ We are offered forgiveness on no other terms. To refuse it is to refuse God’s mercy for ourselves. There is no hint of excep- tions and God means what He says.” To refuse to forgive others is to refuse God’s mercy for ourselves. What a stark statement! But it’s right there in Scripture (see Mt 6:14-15; see also Mt 18:21-35). In order to receive mercy, we must show mercy. In order to be forgiven, we must forgive. As Pope Francis indi- cates in Misericordiae Vultus , we become witnesses to the mercy of God if we are merciful people our- selves. Saint Faustina wrote, “We resemble God most when we forgive our neighbors” ( Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska, 1 148). To make the challenge a little easier, let’s listen to the teaching of the Director of the Association of Marian Helpers, Fr. Chris Alar, MIC, on some myths about forgiveness, as well as the reality. Myth 1: Forgiveness requires rebuilding the relationship. In the dictionary and in life, forgiveness doesn’t nec- essarily mean reconciliation. reconcile (verb): to restore to friendship or harmony; to check (a financial account) against another for accuracy Continued on page 28 To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable, because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you. — C.S. Lewis, Essay on Forgiveness Give a family the blessings from all of the daily Masses, prayers, and good works of the Marian priests around the world. Enroll today and receive a prayercard adapted from Pope Francis’ Prayer to the Holy Family. B less a family Visit ShopMercy.org/family o r call 1-800-462-7426. B27-FBSET Fr. Joseph, MIC, explains enrollments. C lick to enlarge