(art: God Answering Job from the Whirlwind, William Blake, 1805 to 1806) Acceptance of a hurtful event or transgression is so important for forgiveness that it can be truly be said that forgiveness is not possible without acceptance. In the forgiveness process, acceptance in terms of "yes, this is what really happened," is involved in … Continue reading Acceptance is Engagement with Reality of Forgiveness
acceptance
Perfectionism Works Better with Self-Forgiveness
(photo: Al Shahed Press, 2025) My spiritual director was a priest in his elder years who had "seen it all, done it all." During one of our meetings, he commented, "I have heard confessions - thousands of them, maybe more, who knows how many? In all of that time what I saw was that I … Continue reading Perfectionism Works Better with Self-Forgiveness
Pope Leo Explains the Resurrection as Cause and Model for Forgiveness
(photo: Edgar Beltran, 2025) Pope Leo XIV had important things to say about forgiveness in his General Audience on Wednesday of this week. His remarks linked forgiveness to the example of Jesus Christ when he appeared to the disciples after his resurrection (John 20:19-31), and how Jesus appears without anger or desire for revenge, but … Continue reading Pope Leo Explains the Resurrection as Cause and Model for Forgiveness
What Becomes of the Brokenhearted
(photo by Tom Delaney, Sherburne County, Minnesota, 2025) This little patch of Black Eyed Susans (Rudbeckia herta) showed up in our woods for the first time this year. There must be just enough of a break in the overhead canopy of pines to provide the sunlight that these flowers bask in. Black Eyed Susans are … Continue reading What Becomes of the Brokenhearted
Live and Forgive 