StartForgiving.com Step Five: Stop into Church On any long, hard journey, we’ll need both nourishment for strength, and healing for when we’re weary and wounded. On the journey of forgiveness, Jesus offers us both. In the Sacrament of Reconciliation, he forgives and heals the wounds of our sins, so we might give what we have been given. In the Eucharist, he nourishes us with the food and drink of his Body and Blood. He gives us grace to carry on, and then sends us forth in peace to love, and to forgive.
“I carried for years the pain of self-hatred from being verbally and psychologically abused. At times I thought I had put it behind me, but then the hurt would resurface…and the anger, and the bitterness, and the feeling of being a victim, unable to get over this. One day I went to confession and said to the priest I just couldn’t forgive. He said to me, ‘You can forgive. Jesus won for you on the cross the grace and strength to offer forgiveness.’ In an instant he had jogged my thoughts and put a different song in my heart. Maybe, just maybe, I could get beyond this, someday. I looked at the whole situation with more hope from that day forward.” KH 1. Steps for preparing for confession when you are struggling to forgive. Assess where you are now in your forgiveness journey. o Where is the greatest struggle for you now? o Where do you feel you have made progress? o Where do you need God’s help? Make an appointment with a priest with whom you feel comfortable talking about your situation. Ask Jesus to help you meet him in the celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation with great trust. Read the story of the birth of Christ (Lk. 2), reflecting on how God worked out the details of reconciliation when we were at enmity with God. Think about what your deeper desires are. Are they desires for connection? For beauty? For love? For generativity? For harmony? For trust? Celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation and speak with the priest about your struggle. Listen to any advice he may give you. Reflect on your conversation and anything meaningful, surprising or helpful that may have been said. Carry out any penance you may receive. Make one option for growth or change in your life. StartForgiving Process Step Five. Based on Forgiveness: A Catholic Approach Page 1 StartForgiving.com © Daughters of St. Paul. This can be copied freely. www.pauline.org