We had our CFC Community Weekend Retreat last Saturday, April 15, at Saint Anthony of Padua Church in Ras Al Khaimah with the theme ‘Forgiveness and Healing’.
I am sharing the takeaways with you dear readers to be able to assist anyone who is undergoing depression, hatred or self-guilt.
I will quote a content from the booklet distributed to the participants which struck me most: “Faith and forgiveness is embedded in what we profess as Catholics – the Creed. We believe in God’s great favour revealed through Jesus Christ. We believe in Jesus’ infinite divine mercy through the cross. We believe in the power of the Holy Spirit revealed to us through the Holy Catholic Church in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Hence, we believe in the forgiveness of sins. As faith is the foundation of forgiveness, so is forgiveness a manifestation of our faith. It brings to life what we believe in.”
I will make it very simple. We should forgive others before we are forgiven by our Almighty God which is found in the Lord’s Prayer “…Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us…..”
According to one speaker, Garie Pimentel, some of the negative effects if you do not forgive others, especially the ones who had unwittingly hurt you, are that you will always be disturbed even in your sleep and that you will develop physical illnesses. He quoted Mel Robbins who said: “Forgive others not because they deserve forgiveness, but because you deserve peace.”
Dr. Karen Swartz, a professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, said that forgiveness calms stress levels leading to improve health because ‘chronic anger puts you into a flight-or-fight mode, which results in numerous changes in heart rate, blood pressure and immune response. Those changes, then, increase the risk of depression, heart disease and diabetes, among other conditions.’
It’s so true that we torture ourselves emotionally if we have grudges against someone who isn’t even aware that he or she has hurt us. The best for us is to let go but it is really hard to do so. We were therefore taught these three steps on how to forgive:
- Pause – We may think that it is better to just not feel what we truly feel and go on with our lives. The truth is, acknowledging our emotions allows us to accept our realities and face it more courageously.
- Pray – Prayer, such as reflecting the scriptures, allows us to be guided and follow Jesus’ ways.
- Persevere – Forgiveness comes with being persistent and making it our set of daily practices.
After reading this column think of the people who have hurt you. Think also of the people you have hurt. Forgive the first set and ask forgiveness from the second set. It will be very liberating dear readers. By the way, don’t neglect to forgive yourself, too. Blessings, small and big, will eventually come your way.