About a week ago, (October 24-26) I attended the Catholic charismatic conference. This was my first experience (and not to be the last) at a charismatic conference. But it was not my first experience with charismatic Catholicism. Having been involved with SFC for the last year I have been introduced to a whole new level of my Catholic faith. One that I have grown deeply passionate about. It has helped me grow deeper in my relationship with Christ. It has helped me to foster the gifts I have received from the Holy Spirit including the gift of tongues and wisdom and knowledge. Through my experiences God imparts teachings about His Word. I share them with you in this blog as I am inspired to do so.
One teaching that God inspired on me is a teaching on forgiveness and loving your enemies. He taught me about forgiveness after hearing Maria Vadia speak at the charismatic conference. She touched on having a forgiving heart. I learned I had a lot of forgiving in my heart to do. The way I had been living out a part of my life was not a forgiving or loving way. He presented this teaching for me to share with my friends Ronald and Anne but I share it here with all of you so we all may benefit and be reminded of our call as Christians.
In the Bible what does Jesus say is the greatest commandment? In Matthew 22: 37 Jesus tell us the greatest commandment is "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind." As faithful Christians this might not be a great challenge. What is a real challenge for us as Christians is what Jesus states is the second greatest commandment. In Matthew 22: 39, Jesus says "The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Why is this so hard? Because who do we say our neighbor is? EVERYONE Even those who have done wrong against us. That is our challenge. Jesus also teaches in Matthew 5: 44-48 that we should love our enemies. Our enemies are our neighbors too. Even those who do bad love those who love them so what about us Christians?
Before leaving Naples, I had a friend who had been saying bad things about me. She had slandered my name to all the people I had known while I was in Naples. I was so angry and was so hurt. I tried to forget it but the more I thought about it the more angry and upset I got. Every time I would speak of it I would be filled with anger and hate. I carried that anger and hate inside of me. I may not have let it show, but each time I spoke her name the spark was lit and the fire of anger was burning through me. While at the charismatic conference, after hearing Maria speak, I realized that I was not doing what God had called me to do as a christian. Not only was I not loving my neighbor and enemy but He had reminded me of another passage on forgiveness. In Matthew 18: 21-22 Jesus teaches about how many times we are to forgive. He says, "Not seven times but seventy-seven times." So does that mean after seventy-seven times I can stop forgiving? No. In the Bible the number 7 represents a completeness and totality. We are reminded that we must forgive not just the first time someone wrongs us but each time they do it. God has forgiven us of ALL our sins no matter how many times we sin them over and over again. So how much more for us as Christians to forgive those who have done wrong against us? We must forgive them each time they do wrong toward us. We need to ask God to bless them and grant many blessings upon them. Pray for a conversion of their hearts so that they can mend their ways. If we do not have forgiving hearts then that keeps us away from the love of God. Do you want to be separated from the love of God? Now that we know God and Jesus we do not want to be separated from the love of God. Now that we know true peace and happiness we never want to be separated from that.
So let us have forgiving hearts and forgive not once but each time someone does wrong against us. Remember the words Jesus taught us to pray in the Our Father "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us."
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