The Importance of Forgiveness

As young people in the Catholic faith, a concept I think many people forget about is forgiveness. In a world filled with constant sin and temptation, forgiveness is the ultimate gift we receive from God. When we first think about forgiveness, the first thought that pops into the mind is forgiving someone for a specific action  or situation. People always say “forgive and forget” which is always a good reminder when relationships in our lives are difficult. The 2nd type of forgiveness that comes to mind is probably forgiveness from God. The sacrament of Reconciliation is something that commonly gets forgotten about due to busy and crazy everyday lives. It's typical to go once, maybe twice a year and just leave it at that. Of all the sacraments, it seems to be one that is taken rather lightly. In this time of Lent, I've been doing some reflecting on the concept of repentance and ownership of actions. This is a difficult thing to do because who enjoys thinking about all their sins and faults in life? Even though it is a tough thing to do, the enlightenment and serenity that comes from the process is incredible. To this day, I have a hard time describing what it feels like moments after receiving Reconciliation. It's like a weight has been lifted from your shoulders and you are temporarily in a state of peace. I often think to myself, “do I feel like this because of prior guilt I was holding onto”? “Do I feel like this because of the priest's reassuring  words he spoke to me”? I couldn't put my finger on it until recently when I realized that the feeling after receiving Reconciliation is not just because God is forgiving me for my sins, but because I personally am forgiving myself for my sins. As humans we love to hold in and hide away all our wrong doings, failures, and sins, and rarely accept the fact that we aren't perfect. If we never let go of harsh feelings towards ourselves, we will never grow in faith and in our relationship with God. God knows we aren't perfect and doesn't expect us to be. But he does expect us to learn from our mistakes and help others along the way. We have the most loving and forgiving Father and we should always remain thankful for Him. This time of year especially in these strange circumstances with the coronavirus, we should use all our extra time to focus and reflect on ourselves as individuals. We need to learn to forgive others, ask for forgiveness, and most importantly forgive ourselves. Forgiveness frees us to live in the present. Remembering and making forgiveness a priority in all aspects of life has the power to strengthen the darkest parts of our world.