WINTER NIGHT
Dark cold air touches my skin
not biting, but still cold.
Stars glide slowly through the heavens
some twinkling – others steady.
Moon has not visited us tonight -
may not come.
Darkness - cold touch me more deeply –
stirring memories of my travels on earth –
my pilgrimage.
My feet are weary – hurt from many blisters -
memories of dreams not fulfilled -
wanting to love but not being able -
not extending a helping hand when I should have.
My feet hurt from the sounds - bombs of war –
tears - cries of injustice
these push me to the floor - I feel helpless.
When will it ever end? If ever!
But I am not alone –
someone baths - washes my feet with warm water.
My Beloved is present – in the cold night – in the silence
I feel his presence.
He speaks in silence - in darkness –
touches my center –
touch to heal my memories that hurt -
touch giving me confidence in the whirlwind of the world.
Darkness of the evening is not complete –
my Beloved is in the light of dawn that always comes –
Come, Lord Jesus!
Robert Trabold
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FORGIVENESS WORKSHOP
Robert Trabold
Fr. Carl Arrico led a day’s workshop on the forgiveness prayer on January 24, 2009 in West Islip . He opened with some introductory remarks about the whole process of forgiving other people. It is a question of whom to forgive and how to forgive them. Over the years, we have memories of hurts and resentments of people who have hurt and did injustices to us. These memories can wear us down and be a burden to us. Forgiveness is a process where we free ourselves from these memories and become a new creation.
Forgiveness is a complex and difficult process. It is important for us to realize that it is a divine gift, that is, we need God to do it. It is a moment of love in which we uncover the truth of our nature; we are weak and human but have a potential in Christ. In this process, our free will is important; we have to consent to forgive. We have the ability to choose in life and define our being. Forgiveness is an important element in our Christian life because Jesus asks us to be forgiving like our Father in heaven is.
In the prayer, ‘Our Father,’ we say “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” We ask God to loosen the cords of our mistakes that are binding us as we also try to release the bonds of other people’s offenses to us. God should forgive our hidden past and secrets and we need to be honest about we did. We try then to let go of what other people did to us. We do not deny that we were hurt and do feel this. We need to cooperate with God in this action of forgiveness and consent to the divine’s action working within us.
The speaker stressed that the process of forgiveness has four key elements. First, it is not a one time deal but a way of life – a process. There are things of life we have to let go of. Two, in the journey of our life, we grow in the realization that people cannot give to us all that we expect from them. Three, only God loves us unconditionally and other humans cannot do this. Four, with the exception of the case of child abuse in early childhood, if we have problems with others, we most probably have contributed to it.
In the final session of the day, the speaker led the group through the steps of the prayer of forgiveness by Mary Mzrowski. First, we opened with silence and a time for centering prayer. Second, we were asked to close our eyes and become aware of our body and relax in each part of it. We focused on our breathing and felt it close to our heart. Third, we then went into the center of our person – that sacred space within us – our still point and invited the Holy Spirit to enter this interior place. Four, we then asked the Holy Spirit to call and invite into our inner space the person, either living or dead, we wanted
to forgive. Five, as the person entered into our sacred space, we called him/her by name and then shared the pain we have experienced due to the person offenses and injustices to us. We need to be very specific about this and be open in this sharing. At the appropriate time, we told that person that we do forgive him/her and if needed, repeated this. Six, we then went on to ask the person how we might have offended and hurt him/her. We then waited and listened how the person responded to us. We have to remain open in this whole process, repeating the words of our forgiveness if necessary and remain aware of our feelings and emotions. The Holy Spirit is active to heal us of these conflicts and give us a peace which comes with this gesture of forgiveness. Seven, we allowed the person to leave our sacred and inner space and invited him/her to return at another time if needed. We then rested in silence and spent as much time as needed for this. We then moved out of our sacred and inner space going through the door and felt our whole body in this motion of exit. Finally, we opened our eyes and closed the session with a prayer.
In conclusion, the workshop of forgiveness was a day of listening to the importance of this virtue in our Christian life. Its roots lie in the prayer ‘Our Father’ and the Parable of the Prodigal Son of the gospels. In the parable, the father waited for his son to return and received him with open arms running to embrace him when he saw him in the distance. God our Father does this to us each day of our life and to the men and women around us in the world. In the prayer ‘Our Father,’ Jesus asks us to give to others the forgiveness that we receive daily from the Father. In going through the prayer of forgiveness, we did experience the power of the Spirit within us encouraging us to repeat this prayer when necessary in our lives. We then can grow in the process of forgiveness, give it to the people who offended us and experience the peace that comes from this act.
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