Consider Forgiveness

Practicing forgiveness is one of the most powerful things you can do in your life. As we heard in the gospel, Jesus found it within himself to forgive those actively crucifying him. Jesus said, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing." This is true for many situations in life. Before acting irrationally and lashing out at someone who has wronged you, consider the possibility that they did not mean any harm. 

There have been many instances in my life where I am been quick to react to situations before even giving people the opportunity to explain their thought processes and decision-making. It is important to be empathetic in these situations and try to imagine yourself making those same mistakes, and how you would hope to be forgiven and understood. It is easy to be narrow-minded and to only see how a certain situation affects you, but most likely, it is much more complex than that. 

People should not be defined by their mistakes, just as you would not want to be defined by yours. Error and missteps are an inevitable part of life, and they must be treated as such. In the moment, it is often hard to lose sight of all of this, but if you take yourself back to the guilt that you felt after your past mistakes, hopefully, you can find it in yourself to forgive others.

~Vivian W. '23