{"id":1841,"date":"2022-07-22T17:40:55","date_gmt":"2022-07-22T22:40:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.abideinlove.com\/wp\/?p=1841"},"modified":"2022-07-22T17:40:58","modified_gmt":"2022-07-22T22:40:58","slug":"forgiveness-and-the-holy-spirit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.abideinlove.com\/wp\/?p=1841","title":{"rendered":"Forgiveness and the Holy Spirit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cI just can\u2019t forgive and forget.\u201d How many times as a\npriest have I heard that line!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I respond with \u201cOf course you can\u2019t!\u201d or \u201cYou don\u2019t\nhave to!\u201d it\u2019s not uncommon to see a stunned expression of disbelief. Isn\u2019t that what our faith teaches us we have\nto do?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

No, it\u2019s not.  In\nfact, the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches exactly the opposite!\nParagraph 2843 tells us that it is not in our power to stop feeling an offense,\nnor to forget about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If we find ourselves battling with unforgiveness, we can be assured that it is not our feeling that is the problem, nor our remembering. They need healing and care, yes, but our emotions and our memory are marvelous, God-created human faculties that are actually standing witness to the reality and the gravity of the harm that happened. I have written before on how feeling anger is actually part of the path of forgiveness<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is an untying or unbinding that needs to happen if we desire to forgive from the depth of our heart, as Jesus invites us (Matthew 18:35). This unbinding can only happen if we yield and surrender. But it is a divine work, made possible by the victory of Jesus in his dying, rising, and ascending. Slowly but surely \u2013 sometimes in cathartic moments, other times in painful and vigilant waiting \u2013 his victory becomes our victory. We truly become like Christ \u2013 which means we share in the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Remember that \u201cChrist\u201d means \u201canointed one,\u201d and \u201cChristian\u201d refers to one who shares in that anointing.\u00a0 It is the Holy Spirit who transforms our hearts as we walk the path of forgiveness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Catechism describes it this way:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is there, in fact,\n\u201cin the depths of the heart,\u201d that everything is bound and loosed. It is not in\nour power not to feel or to forget an offense; but the heart that offers itself\nto the Holy Spirit turns injury into compassion and purifies the memory in\ntransforming the hurt into intercession <\/em>(CCC 2843).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every offense wounds both the perpetrator and the victim. Unhealed wounds fester in both. It is within our wounds that the evil one tends to find his playground. Ignatius of Loyola describes the devil as \u201cthe enemy of our human nature.\u201d In his hatred and envy, he is eager to torment us. Human scenes or harm or neglect (whether emotional, physical, sexual, or spiritual) offer the devil fertile soil to sow his lies \u2013 lies about who God is and lies about who we are as God\u2019s beloved children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If and when we find the courage to face our deeper wounds,\nwe can welcome the anointing of the Holy Spirit. He is the Paraclete \u2013 the one\nwho comforts, consoles, counsels, encourages, and soothes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Think of a little girl with a wound. Does she want mom or dad to put ointment on it? Not normally! She probably needs a good deal of reassurance that it\u2019s going to be okay. Is it going to hurt? <\/em>Actually, yes. But it will also soothe and help it get better. She may need to breathe and calm down first before she is okay with them tending to the wound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are invited to approach our heavenly Father as little children, and to welcome the anointing of the Holy Spirit \u2013 especially when we find ourselves feeling the wounds of past harm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I do this personally, I find it incredibly helpful to have visible reminders of who God is and who he has been for me. I also believe strongly that Jesus, dying on the Cross, was also speaking to me when he said \u201cBehold, your mother!\u201d Mary has very much been a mother to me on my own healing journey, giving me the emotional and spiritual safety to receive the anointing of the Holy Spirit with confidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It still hurts \u2013 sometimes a lot. There\u2019s a reason why people avoid going to doctors \u2013 even really good ones. There\u2019s a reason why people don\u2019t always follow through on healthy rehab. Even when we know there is new and better life on the other side, we are afraid of the suffering and surrender that precede.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the anointing of the Holy Spirit also comforts and consoles. If we allow him to touch us where we are wounded, healing will always happen \u2013 sometimes with a cathartic release or a dramatic unbinding, but more commonly with slow and steady doses of his healing balm. That is why healthy Christian community is so important. We often need others to point out and celebrate the progress we are making. We can count on the devil to discourage whenever he sees an opportunity. The Holy Spirit works through our companions, our mentors, our spiritual guides, and our therapists to spur us on us with encouragement by celebrating every step of progress. Like little children who are learning and growing, we need a cloud of witnesses cheering us on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Notice in the Catechism quote that healing of past harm is not a matter of erasing, but of transforming. As the Holy Spirit anoints us, we become truly Christ-like. Jesus\u2019 wounds are not erased \u2013 he actually shows them to the apostles after his Resurrection. But those wounds are transformed, as is he. He is now seated at the right hand of the Father, interceding for us. The more we receive true healing in the depths of our heart, the more we become like Christ. Injury is changed into empathy and compassion. Our wounds become (like Christ\u2019s) sources of healing and transformation for others. Like him, we become powerful intercessors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I offer a caution here! With the word \u201cintercession\u201d comes a risk shortcutting the process. Becoming Christ-like means willingly suffering, dying, rising, and ascending with him. We don\u2019t like the whole powerless part, so we have a human tendency to grab onto something that gives us the illusion of control. If I can be an intercessor (praying for those who have hurt me) then I can feel in control \u2013 and I can conveniently keep all attention away from my unhealed wounds. And little or no transformation will happen. Only when I willingly and freely walk the path of Jesus, the healing path of the Paschal Mystery, can I truly experience the transformation of forgiveness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

True intercession comes from a place of already-won victory.\nIt is the risen and ascended Jesus who is our intercessor at the right hand of\nthe Father. As we come to share more and more in his victory, our healed wounds\nbecome a powerful place of intercession on behalf of those who have harmed us. To\nthe extent that we resist and refuse to go into the depths of our heart \u2013 where\nthe wounds are \u2013we will remain bound up in unforgiveness and resentment. We can\n\u201cintercede\u201d feverishly in that case \u2013 and we will only be making an idol out of\nthe one who has harmed us, orienting ourselves around him or her rather than\nworshiping the living God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the Letter to the Hebrews teaches us, Jesus is our great high priest who truly became one flesh and one blood with us and has now brought our human flesh and blood into the heavenly sanctuary, where he reigns victoriously with the Father. Their Holy Spirit allows all that is Christ\u2019s to be ours. That means willingly entering into the depths of suffering and dying with him \u2013 knowing that he has gone there first. All the while we will likely find ourselves recoiling with a fear of betrayal, resisting any experience of powerlessness, and both wanting and not wanting such intense love. The Holy Spirit will comfort and encourage us. We will discover the newness of the Resurrection and power of the Ascension, and come to share more and more in the great triumph of his Mercy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cI just can\u2019t forgive and forget.\u201d How many times as a priest have I heard that line! When I respond with \u201cOf course you can\u2019t!\u201d or \u201cYou don\u2019t have to!\u201d it\u2019s not uncommon to see a stunned expression of disbelief. Isn\u2019t that what our faith teaches us we have to do? No, it\u2019s not.  In … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Forgiveness and the Holy Spirit”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1842,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[57,55,54],"tags":[122,334,428,482,232,121,213,480,481,333,161],"class_list":["post-1841","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-healing","category-scripture","category-spirituality","tag-anger","tag-ascension","tag-catechism-of-the-catholic-church","tag-consolation","tag-encouragement","tag-forgiveness","tag-holy-spirit","tag-intercession","tag-paraclete","tag-passion","tag-resurrection"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.abideinlove.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Intercession.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.abideinlove.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1841","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.abideinlove.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.abideinlove.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.abideinlove.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.abideinlove.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1841"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.abideinlove.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1841\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1843,"href":"https:\/\/www.abideinlove.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1841\/revisions\/1843"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.abideinlove.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1842"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.abideinlove.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1841"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.abideinlove.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1841"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.abideinlove.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1841"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}