Dear Friends,
Last Sunday the Church celebrated the feast of Divine Mercy and this Sunday that of the Good
Shepherd. The Church gives us these wonderful images during the Easter Season to help us better understand
the amazing gift we have received through Jesus’ death and resurrection. We are forgiven, freed of sin and
given eternal life.
I was reminded recently of the powerful film The Mission which tells the story of Jesuit mission
work in South America during the time of the Spanish Conquest. One sub-story in the film concerns the
activities of Francisco, a mercenary for the Portuguese. In the film, Francisco kills his brother in a moment
of accidental rage and then begins to drag his remorse with him through every field of life. Finally, in an
effort to make life bearable, he attempts to exchange the burden of remorse for the burden of a net of heavy
armor – the tools of his mercenary lifestyle. Perhaps, his reasoning suggests, the pain of physical suffering
can somehow compensate for the pain of the evil brought upon his brother by his own sword. Much to
Francisco’s dismay, however, he is eventually forced not only to abandon his effort to equalize life but he is
forced to accept forgiveness and to accept it without cost.
Do we not often experience the same? On one hand, we seek to repay those we have injured by
means of our own suffering – “if we suffer enough perhaps they will forgive us”. While on the other hand,
we seek pain from those who have injured us in payment for our own pain – “love to the point of pain is the
cost for our forgiveness”. But, really, neither case should be so.
For if this were the case – to exact a pound of pain in payment for a pound of pain – we would
believe that life is reversible or always capable of happy endings. The reality is – the pain is real, the sin
happened, and cannot be simply lifted by another’s pain. The reality is – forgiveness can neither be bought
nor sold. Sin is a double-edged sword that hurts both the sinner and the victim. Both experience pain. Both
experience loss. It is no easy matter to surrender either pain – sinner or victim.
The truth of this Easter season of mercy that we learn from Jesus is – that it is not the love in the
sinner that matters but the love in the victim. It is the love offered by the victim in the form of forgiveness
that can transform the sinner and help them respond in love to others. It is not the sinner’s love that brings
about forgiveness from the victim, but it is the victim’s forgiveness that brings about love in the sinner. This
is the experience of the grace we receive from Jesus. Jesus is the victim who forgives us sinners. His mercy,
his love sets us free to love.
May the Good Shepherd lead you gently today into an ever-deeper understanding of his truth. Listen
to his voice. Know that the saving victim has forgiven you. Do the same.
Peace,
Fr. Damian