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This article is at “Ask a Priest: How Can I Forgive, After Years of Harassment?” - RC Spirituality
The person said “I know we are supposed to forgive, no matter what. Over the past 10 years I have been slandered, to the point of losing my profession. My mother and I had been stalked, mocked and harassed wherever we went… My mother was harassed right up to the time when she died. My faith is a comfort to me. I know I must forgive, but don’t know how.”
The priest, answering, said “the forces of evil are strong in the world. This is why being a Christian can be so demanding.”
“We can forgive someone but still reel from the pain that the person caused us.”
"The important thing is that you make an act of the will when you forgive. You can say, ‘Lord, I want to forgive this person; give me the grace to do it.’
The upshot of this: Keep praying for the grace to forgive those who have hurt you. … People can hurt us on the exterior level (including our reputation). But they can’t hurt our core if we don’t permit it. Your loving heart is something no one can take from you.
Perhaps Jesus has allowed this special cross in your life to draw you closer to himself. You can probably understand more deeply what it means to be persecuted as Our Lord was. This cross can be the instrument of your growth in holiness."
The person said “I know we are supposed to forgive, no matter what. Over the past 10 years I have been slandered, to the point of losing my profession. My mother and I had been stalked, mocked and harassed wherever we went… My mother was harassed right up to the time when she died. My faith is a comfort to me. I know I must forgive, but don’t know how.”
The priest, answering, said “the forces of evil are strong in the world. This is why being a Christian can be so demanding.”
“We can forgive someone but still reel from the pain that the person caused us.”
"The important thing is that you make an act of the will when you forgive. You can say, ‘Lord, I want to forgive this person; give me the grace to do it.’
The upshot of this: Keep praying for the grace to forgive those who have hurt you. … People can hurt us on the exterior level (including our reputation). But they can’t hurt our core if we don’t permit it. Your loving heart is something no one can take from you.
Perhaps Jesus has allowed this special cross in your life to draw you closer to himself. You can probably understand more deeply what it means to be persecuted as Our Lord was. This cross can be the instrument of your growth in holiness."
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