Sometimes, We Need to Hear That We Have Been Forgiven
Because one of the toughest things to do is to forgive yourself
“In my deepest wound I saw your glory, and it dazzled me.”― St. Augustine
“Come now, and let us reason together,” says Yahweh: “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. — Isaiah 1:18, WEB
No matter how good we are or how holy we tried to be, there is some part of ourselves that’s burdened by past mistakes. It is that part that never quite goes away even though we try again and again to cover it or to deny that it even exists.
There is some part in ourselves that need to be forgiven, some part in our hearts that long to be freed from guilt.
We need someone else to declare that our sins have indeed been blotted out, that they have been swept away.
We need to hear it. We need to know that we are no longer being blamed.
Take heart, O soul. For your God is ever ready to relieve you from pain. Through a repentant heart, you obtain in Him freedom, you obtain forgiveness from all your sins. You are not blamed, you are not condemned. On the contrary, you are embraced, you are welcomed in great delight, you are loved!
“Only love will give us comfort, for love allows us to see the gentleness of Divine strength and wisdom. If God can forgive our sins, why shouldn’t we forgive ourselves? We do not need to be weighed down with fear and doubt and shame.” — All Shall Be Well: A Modern-Language Version of the Revelation of Julian Norwich by Ellyn Sanna
“God’s patience has to call forth in us the courage to return to Him, however many mistakes and sins there may be in our life… It is there, in the wounds of Jesus, that we are truly secure; there we encounter the boundless love of His heart.” — Pope Francis