Newspaper Page Text
The Southern Cross, Page 4
/m
Thursday, May 25, 2000
A bishop reflects on Jubilee forgiveness
Below are excerpts from a homily
preached by Bishop F. Joseph
Gossman of Raleigh, N.C. at that
diocese’s Chrism Mass on
April 18. Bishop J. Kevin Boland
suggested publication of the homily
in The Southern Cross
as it concerns a central theme of
the Jubilee: forgiveness.
By Bishop F. Joseph Gossman
God in his being is forgiveness
and we who are made in his image
possess the power to forgive. Essen
tial to creating a Jubilee year is for
giving and being forgiven. Forgive
ness is a “necessary corrective to
evil, a part of connectedness that
illuminates our common destiny.”
The Pope has said, “There is no
sin, not even the most intimate and
secret one, the most strictly individ
ual one, that exclusively concerns
the person committing it. With
greater or lesser violence, with
greater or lesser harm, every sin has
repercussions on the whole family.
And every act of forgiveness has
repercussions on the whole family.”
As Jubilee people we are called to
grant and request forgiveness—as
individuals, families, communities
and nations. If we do not forgive
what is in our power to forgive, we
keep alive the quid pro quo of
returning evil for evil. With forgive
ness comes the possibility of put
ting an end to evil and violence.
Exercising forgiveness we may
even demonstrate the presence of
God.
Forgive what?
Forgive everything we can. For
give debts, trespasses, slights, hurts,
humiliation, injustices, everything.
Forgive omissions—those offenses
we commit by leaving things out,
ignoring what needs to be done or
not noticing what needs to be done
and how unthinkingly we harm oth
ers.
I suspect that we need to seek for
giveness more for our omissions
than commissions, especially when
what we fail to do arises from our
lack of aware
ness of our priv
ilege: racial,
gender, econom
ic, educational,
position or, in
the case of chil
dren, grown-up
privilege.
A pertinent
examination of
conscience
might move us to request forgive
ness for the privileges we so often
unwittingly assume as ours.
Forgive and be forgiven
by whom?
Our families, our friends, espe
cially those with an intimate con
nection to us; the people our people
have harmed, our neighborhoods,
our parishes. And we must try to
forgive ourselves.
For many of us family forgiveness
is often the most difficult: parents,
brothers and sisters, spouses, in
laws, relatives, children. Family
forgiveness is difficult because no
one can hurt us more than those we
have known and loved from the ear
liest years of our lives and from
whom we have come to expect
understanding, support, protection
and love.
We must seek and grant forgive
ness of those who have a family
like, personal connectedness to our
lives. Our close friends, the people
with whom we work, those who
share our mission, especially bish
ops, priests and religious.
The people our people have
harmed. Pope John Paul has given
us our example. But what is true of
the Church as a community is
equally true of families, neighbor
hoods, institu-
“Hans Urs von Balthasar
proposed a three-step model
for how to request forgiveness.
Give no defense,
make a full confession and
don’t blame others.”
tions.
Sometimes
we must seek
or grant for
giveness for
the actions of
one of our
members.
We must
forgive our
selves. We
cannot grant ourselves forgiveness
for what we have done to others; that
is theirs to give, and God’s preroga
tive. Still there are circumstances
where we must let go of our self-con
demnation and get on with our lives,
especially after we have received the
grace to recognize ourselves as sin
ners. We may need to forgive our
tempers, our addictions, our vanities,
our arrogance, our insensitivity, our
failure to do what we must and be
who we are.
Forgive how?
In the prayer that Jesus taught us to
pray we asked to be forgiven as we
forgive.
Elaine Roulet, who is quoted in
Maria Harris’ book Proclaiming
Jubilee, tells this story. “There once
lived a wise woman, and it was clear
to all that God spoke to her and she
to God. All except the local bishop
who tried to think of ways to discred
it her and reduce her influence.”
“One day, believing he had discov
ered how to do this, he came to her
and said, ‘I have heard God speaks to
you and you speak to God. I want
you to prove it by asking God to
reveal to you my innermost sins’—
for being a bishop he had many.”
“The wise woman conceded. On a
day agreed upon for the woman to
carry back God’s response, the bishop
returned to hear it. ‘Did you petition
God for the names of my innermost
sins?’ the bishop asked. ‘I did.’ She
replied. ‘And what did God say?’
asked the bishop. Her answer was im
mediate. God said,’“Tell the bishop,
I’m sorry. I’ve forgotten his inner
most sins’.”
Hans Urs von Balthasar proposed a
three-step model for how to request
forgiveness. Give no defense, make a
full confession and don’t blame oth
ers. This model has been used by the
present pope throughout his long
reign in the 95-plus instances where
he has publicaly admitted Church
culpability. It is a model worth adopt
ing.
Sometimes asking or granting for
giveness takes a long time. It comes
only when there is readiness, a gen
uine repentance from the one who
offended. But is wise to remember
that in human relations we may not
have much time. So do it now!
Many seek to find forgiveness by
returning to places which naturally
evoke such feelings. The concentra
tion camps in Europe, the memorial
at Pearl Harbor, the Holy Land, to
name but a few. But returning need
not involve travel to far away places.
It is as available as the nearest shelter
for battered women and children, a
soup kitchen for the homeless, a nurs
ing home for the elderly, even our
parental home.
Returning to such places can be a
request for forgiveness for our corn-
continued on page 11)
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More praise for Rita’s articles
Dear Editor:
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The Trappists at Conyers.
My husband installed the first printing equip
ment in the mon; nd our family frequently
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Readers respond
Dear Editor:
Just a word (or two) for comment in Father
Mike Smith's name. If Bill Peterson (May 11)
wants “crossword puzzles” he can buy the
Augusta newspaper or such; if he wants to know
Letters
what is going on in his Diocese, he can read The
Southern Cross.
Father Mike probably does more in one hour
then this man has in his lifetime. I am certain,
though Father Mike is no “large” man, Bill
could never fill his shoes. The list is much too
large to place here all that he does, not to men
tion, just being the kind, loving person he is,
means so much to so many.
Linda L. Dokey
Eastman
***
Dear Editor:
In lieu of Bill Peterson’s criticism of the Ca
tholic Church and The Southern Cross for not
being humorous, I find this odd if in fact he is
Catholic.
Perhaps the saving of souls is funny business
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and shouldn’t be take seriously by the Church of
the Cross.
On the contrary, it is very serious business and
that is why Mother Angelica and Cardinal
O’Connor will stand firm with Pope John Paul II
in the teachings of the Catholic faith on doc
trines and morals.
They are the unflinching who uphold the true
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