Forgiveness and Compassion

If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we would find in each person’s life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility. – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

It is very difficult to see the good virtues of people who have just hurt us. At the moment of pain, all we can see is the evil they have done, an evil for which we may suffer our whole lives through.

But if we can only see through the eyes of compassion, we may begin to see that behind the frightening masks, there are people like you who have also been hurt. People who may not even know what they are truly doing because they are so lost in their own darkness and pain.

This is not to lessen the weight of their sins nor to ignore our own suffering. But to be able to find compassion for those who have hurt us is to help us release much of the wrath that weighs us down.

To see a brother or a sister instead of seeing an enemy is to find a place for love. It is in this very place where we can begin to find a ray of hope for our own healing and peace.

Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” – Luke 23:34, WEBBE

Check Jocelyn's books:

"Of Waves and Butterflies: Poems on Grief", "Mend My Broken Heart", "Questions to God", "To Love an Invisible God", "Defending My Catholic Faith", and more - click here.

(You may freely quote excerpts from this website as long as due credit is given to author Jocelyn Soriano and the website itakeoffthemask.com)