Forgiveness (a Henri Nouwen Quotation)
Submitted by Ford Prefect on January 24 2001 14:00:52
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Daily Meditation: January 24 by Henri Nouwen; from Bread for the Journey, Harper Collins, New York, 1997 Forgiveness, the Cement of Community Life Community is not possible without the willingness to forgive one another "seventy-seven times" (see Matthew 18:22). Forgiveness is the cement of community life. Forgiveness holds us together through good and bad times, and it allows us to grow in mutual love. But what is there to forgive or to ask forgiveness for? As people who have hearts that long for perfect love, we have to forgive one another for not being able to give or receive that perfect love in our everyday lives. Our many needs constantly interfere with our desire to be there for the other unconditionally. Our love is always limited by spoken or unspoken conditions. What needs to be forgiven? We need to forgive one another for not being God! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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