by Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ and Director, CREDI
As we prepare for the Passion of the Lord and His glorious Resurrection, let us reflect on the many nuggets of wisdom contained in today’s Gospel (John 3:14-21). God sent his only Son into the world to save us, to lead us to our Father. He, the Light of the World, came to dispel the darkness. Sadly, in our country and in our world today, many “have shown they prefer darkness to the light because their deeds were evil…everybody who does wrong hates the light and avoids it, for fear his actions should be exposed…”
As a recent victim of crime, I know of the pain one experiences in trying to let go of material things that have been taken by those who prefer the darkness, things that are of tremendous sentimental value – not to the burglar but to the person from whom the items have been stolen. Like many in our country, I am still going through that pain. I admire the saints who could forgive more easily than I can.
Every day I say the Lord’s Prayer. These days the following part of the prayer has taken on a new meaning: “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” In my distress, I struggle to forgive the burglar(s). I recall the words of St Pope John Paul II: “…forgiveness does not come spontaneously or naturally to people. Forgiving from the heart can sometimes be heroic…Thanks to the healing power of love, even the most wounded heart can experience the liberating encounter with forgiveness…We all need to be forgiven by others, so we must all be ready to forgive. Asking and granting forgiveness is something profoundly worthy of every one of us.”
In helping me to move forward, my sister Indra, in London, reminded me of her experience. For three years she allowed a homeless Trini youth – a stranger – to stay with her family, free of charge, since the girl’s father was in jail in Trinidad and could not continue to pay her private school fees. One day Indra returned home to discover that the young lady had left and had taken a lot of valuables with her. Indra reminded me of what she had said when she discovered the theft. She said: “Our mother taught us that man does dead, so what if we lose a few material things through theft!”
Indra recalled what happened one Christmas when we were children. Our family had gone to visit relatives and on our return, we discovered that burglars had broken into our home and had stolen half of our Christmas food. When we discovered later on that the ‘burglar’ was a poor man who had lost his job and just wanted enough to ensure that his family had food for Christmas, my parents immediately forgave him.
In his reflection on the Parable of the Prodigal Son on September 16, 2013, Pope Francis reminded us that forgiveness “is not a sentiment – it is not ‘feeling good’ – on the contrary, mercy is the true force that can save man and the world from the cancer that is sin, bad morality or bad spirituality. Only love fills up the emptiness, the negative chasms that evil opens in hearts and in history…only the justice of God can save us!”
As Kerri Lenartowick reported in the National Catholic Register, the Holy Father said to those gathered: “The justice of God is revealed in the cross. There we see how God judges: by giving his life for us! Jesus’ sacrifice of his life on the cross is the supreme act of justice and is also precisely an act of mercy…Jesus calls all of us to follow this path: Be merciful, as your Father is merciful.”
The report said the Holy Father encouraged his audience to examine their own hearts to see where they might need to extend mercy and forgiveness. He said: “Everyone, in silence, think of someone with whom things aren’t going well: someone we are angry at, someone we don’t wish well. Think of this person, and, in silence, in this moment, let’s pray for this person and become merciful towards this person.”
Lord, help me to be merciful. Help me also to use my God-given gifts to lead others to you, so that they will experience your love and mercy. Amen.
