3 Ways to Practice Forgiveness

“This outpouring of mercy cannot penetrate our hearts as long as we have not forgiven those who have trespassed against us…”(CCC # 2840).

This Sunday we celebrate the Divine Mercy Sunday. The Church calls us to meditate on the gratitude of God’s gracious mercy shown to us and we should look sincerely  at the mercy that we show to others. Our God is a God of mercy.

3 Ways to Practice Forgiveness:

The English poet Alexander Pope stated: “To err is  human, to forgive is divine.” 
Following are three short and concrete suggestions to help us on the pathway to forgiveness and mercy!

1.  Beg for the Grace. To forgive our enemies, to pray for them and to love them goes far beyond our fallen human    nature. We desperately need God’s overflowing and   abundant grace. Saint Augustine says that we are all   beggars before God. Therefore, we should beg for the grace to forgive. God will not deny us this noble petition.

2.  Forgive Immediately. When we are offended, often the devil works on us right away fostering in our minds thoughts of revenge. Therefore, if we respond to God’s grace of mercy and forgive immediately there is a very good chance that the victory is ours. Be quick to reject unkind thoughts and be quicker still to forgive!

3.  Mercy is a Two-Way Street. Remember that receiving God’s mercy is not a dead-end but rather a two-way street. Jesus said: “Be merciful as your Heavenly Father is     merciful… and forgive…” (Lk 6:36). Therefore, if we want to experience God’s infinite mercy in our lives, we must extend our hand in forgiveness towards those who have offended us. The Lord’s Prayer teaches us the same    lesson:  “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive        those …..”

Jesus told Saint Faustina that He desires that we practice at least one act of mercy every day. He specified that mercy can be carried out in any of these three manners:
1)  by kind words
2)  by kind deeds
3)  by prayer

Entering the Paschal Mystery

We started on our Lenten journey since Ash Wednesday with the best of intentions, expecting to grow closer to our crucified Lord.  In the last 5 weeks, you resolved to give up your favourite dessert, you were kind to your annoying neighbours and you tried hard not to miss your prayer times. You have been faithfully fasting by giving up at least one meal on Fridays.

You have become a little holier now. Am I right?!  Or are you, conversely, feeling worn out, finding yourselves growing irritable and impatient?

If so, you may have taken the wrong approach to Lent. As we have seen in these past few weeks, the heart of Lent is not about Resolutions -  it is about Repentance and Love. It is the orientation of our hearts back to a loving Father who awaits our return.  In what ways have we drifted away; what are we truly sorry about? The three tools of Prayer, Fasting (Penance) and Almsgiving will help to condition our mind and heart towards a right attitude in our observation of Lent.

The gift of Lent is not in what we have lost but rather in what we have discovered: the sweetness of sacrifice, the power of prayer. The depth of our encounter with the Risen Lord Jesus depends on how we lived out the holy season of Lent. Spend some time writing about how fruitful Lent has been for you instead of fretting about how wearisome and frustrating it has been so far.

HOLY WEEK is here once again. It begins with Passion    Sunday and ends with Easter Sunday with the Evening prayers (Vespers).  During this time of the liturgical year, we are called to enter into a deeper journey of uniting ourselves with Jesus, connecting our sufferings to His sufferings, our passion to His passion, our need for the glory of resurrection to His glorious Resurrection. Reading the Passion story of our Lord reflectively will predispose us towards experiencing the Joys of Easter!

God chose Our Lady to collaborate intimately in His work of our redemption and sanctification. May she accompany us in Holy Week as we unite ourselves with Christ in His Paschal Mystery reaching its climax at His glorious Resurrection! Let us enter Holy Week with a pure heart and a steadfast  spirit - dying to sin and rising to new life!

               Have a Blessed Holy Week

"COME BACK TO ME!!!

Many of us have drifted away from frequenting the Sacrament of God’s Mercy, which we call Confession. The reasons are many:  some of us have never had our conscience well-formed, others harbour a nagging fear or doubt while still others wrestle with the “I have no sin” notion!

Here are five concrete practices you can adopt to return to God’s mercy:

1.              Go for Confession: I can’t convince you, if you are putting up excuses to deny yourself God’s infinite mercy by avoiding Confession! So let us prepare ourselves and come in humility and faith to be redirected in our journey back to God, on 25 March (Wednesday) at our Parish @ 8.00 pm.  Do not let the devil of procrastination conquer you!

2.              Mercy: Remind our wandering souls, the lost sheep/prodigal son/daughter, that God’s mercy is infinite. Saint Paul reminds us: “Where sin abounds, the mercy of God abounds all the more.” Saint Faustina Kowalska asserts that the    greatest sinners can be the greatest saints if they simply place their trust in the infinite mercy of Jesus.

3.              The Prodigal Son and Confession (Lk. 15:11-32):  Read and meditate on the Parable of the Prodigal Son before and after the Sacrament of Confession.

  4.              Examination of Conscience.  The examination of conscience is like an attentive gaze fixed on Jesus, to imitate his virtues, to conform ourselves to him and to open our soul to His presence. It is the means for knowing ourselves and it grounds us in humility, disposes us in gratitude towards God, to sorrow for sin, and to affirm our resolution for the future. In the March 8 issue of ‘Herald’, Pope Francis offers handy tips for preparing for Confession (front page).

5.              How? When? Where? Somebody who has been away from the Church for many years and has not confessed for a long time, may not even remember the basics on how to go to Confession. Just go through the basics with someone.  Don’t worry! The priest will guide you. Do enter the confessional, make the sign of the cross, and tell the priest how long it has been since your last Confession. Then tell your sins to the priest who represents Jesus Christ.
Saint James encourages us, “… if anyone among you should stray from the truth and someone brings him back, he should know that whoever brings back a sinner from the error of his ways will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins,”(James 5:19-20)

May Our Lady, “Refuge of sinners” as well as “Mother of mercy” bring us sinners back to the loving and merciful Heart of our Lord Jesus!

Fasting with the Tongue this Lent

One of the most powerful weapons is our tongue.  The words we utter have a tremendous power be it for good or for evil.Pope Francis constantly reminds us of the importance of   vigilance over our whole being; and this includes our tongue and the words that come forth. Time and time again Pope Francis strongly encourages us to avoid gossip, back-biting, careless speech, criticism, negativism, sarcasm, lies and  slander that damage others.

Saint James reminds us that, “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, (James 1:19). James Chapter 3 speaks about controlling our tongue. St James explains about the dangers of the tongue and the damage that this small instrument can do.  We can tame all animals, but not the tongue. It is small, but like a little spark that can start a huge fire, the tongue can do irreparable damage.

A bitter or sarcastic word can leave wounds in the soul that may never heal. On the contrary, a kind word motivated by a pure and loving heart can lift somebody out of the pits of  desolation.

Jesus warns us, “Every word that comes out of our heart will be judged,” (Mt 12:37). He also encourages us not to waste words, but to use them effectively and to keep to the point whenever possible: “Let your language, be ‘Yes’ for ‘yes’ or ‘No’ for ‘no’; the rest comes from the evil one!”

Every person on earth can understand the Golden Rule: “Do to others what you would like them to do to you.” Why not apply this Golden Rule of Jesus when we speak to others.
Our words should serve ‘to build up’ our neighbour. We must counteract negative  and poisonous speech by using our tongue to lift others closer to God. The Word of God reminds us that he who does not control his speech is not on the    highway to holiness. However, the man who controls his tongue is being led by the Holy Spirit and is following the  pathway to holiness.

In the Holy Season of Lent, let us fast from all words that could offend others. God is not pleased when we offend others with our speech. Like Mary, who kept the Most High close to her heart, let us learn to praise God in the way we live our lives. Let us say with Mary: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,” 
(LK 1: 46).

How Lent Can Strengthen Your Marriage?

I have found that most parishioners think about Lent as a time to enter  more deeply into their personal spiritual life. We should understand that Jesus’ Passion is about a relationship and how he overpowers sin to win love and redemption for us. Regardless of the price He has to pay, Jesus is  faithful to His mission to serve His Father’s Will. How much of our life is spent  on serving God’s will in your marriage and in your family life? 

Three Lenten acts give an opportunity to grow closer to God and to your spouse.

1. PRAY TOGETHER

Prayer will help you get to know each other in a deeper way. It reminds you that when you are married, you are one body, mind, soul, and spirit. As we get closer to each other, we also get closer to God; that’s the ultimate goal to bring our spouse to God. 

• Attend Mass: Fulfill the Sunday obligation by  attending Sunday Mass together. 
• Pray for each other: When you wake up each day, just say to the Lord, “I offer you this day for my spouse.” 
• Pray for your family: In the same way, you can offer your day for your children.
• Pray together: Before retiring each day, it is good to kneel by your bed together to present your expectations, your plans and your dreams to the Lord. Even your differences. 

2. SACRIFICE

Contemplate the sacrificial love of Jesus to increase your own capacity to love your spouse:- 

• Resentment: Resentment is a message telling you that something must change in  YOU! Learn to have compassion, listen to the pain in your spouse. It will help you relax and bring peace to the family. 
• Complaining: Stop destructive criticism and complaining this Lent. Train yourself to see the  good in your spouse and his/her best qualities. Love your spouse by serving, sacrificing, listening, empathizing, appreciating and  affirming him/her.
• Worrying: Offer to God whatever worries that weigh you down. I encourage you to make use of our prayer card, “Prayer for the Family” which we have distributed early this year. 

3. ALMS GIVING 

Alms giving literally means giving to the poor. People are poor in different ways and there are a variety of ways to serve them. People who may need your assistance are: 

• People without money/ food/and shelter.
• People without family and friends who could use some of your time.
• Our parishioners or families that need your time and talent. Share your God - given gifts with them.
• Your own family: Consciously give your loved ones more attention and spend time together. Have meals together more regularly and listen to each other more    attentively

As a couple, discern how you are being called to serve others. Then, make a realistic plan to give generously to others, while still continuing to take care of your spouse and children. Our Lenten tears and sacrifices are not for the Lord, but for ourselves; that we may rediscover the joy of loving Him. “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your  children (Luke 22:28).” Even in tears, we can find joy.