Why not be a fast forgiver?
An alcoholic nun at an AA meeting I attended said she immediately forgives, believing that is the best way. That sounds good. We know we must forgive, so why beat around the bush and work up to it, causing us more distress than if we had been a fast forgiver.
I went to mass with my wife last Sunday, and the priest said in his homily that to forgive is to act as if it never happened. That's a tall order!
I believe that forgiveness does not always require reconciliation with people who just won't treat me right ever. Sometimes I think that I'm forgiving of someone just by not thinking about letting them have it!
I'm not a Catholic. I am a protester, err Protestant. But, I get a lot from the Catholics. I am a Christian, but think it is good to learn from all about faith. I can discern when another person's belief in a concept is not Christian.
It is better for us to forgive. Anyone can understand that this is so, considering all the harm to ourselves and to others that comes from lack of forgiving. But to be a fast forgiver requires being predominantly mindful of God and of our spiritual life which is real; we need to be convinced that our spiritual life is the bigger thing in us. If we are 99.99 percent mindful of our physical world, like is usual with most of us, it is impossible. Our need to be largely mindful of God and His commands in order to live in the reality of our spiritual selves, is why the Bible says to "pray without ceasing."
God does good things in us and for us anonymously. They seem natural, but God is doing them. We don't usually realize God is doing them, because they seem natural. And, the more we follow His teachings, for instance about forgiving, the more we see Him working good in our lives.
Why does God allow bad things to happen? One must ask himself then, "Would I like to live in a world where there is no progress to be made. Who would I be if there were no one to help?" I think very few people stop to think that God is preventing even worse things from happening all the time. What if we had attack squirrels?
This is just how I understand things at this point in my life - I am not preaching.
