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Friday, March 12, 2021

The Burden of the Past

 We should live in the present.  We can't do anything about the past; it's done.  The future might not even happen, so why worry about it?

That's easy to say but if your past is horrendous, how can you forget it?  If you had a terrible childhood, it's hard to rise above it.  Think if you had a terrible childhood and you murdered your abuser.  How could you rise above it?

I am thinking specifically of my "cloistered brothers."  The scenario I described is not unusual.  Many of my "cloistered brothers" had terrible childhoods and they did go on to do terrible things.  

Yet, God tells us to have hope.  The Catholic Church offers us the Sacrament of Reconciliation. 1 John 1:9,  If you confess your sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Psalm 103: 10-13 tells us that God's merciful forgiveness is as wide as the east is to the west. 

Ephesians 1: 7-8,  "In Him we. have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins..." 

You can't forget the past but you have to try to deal with it in such a manner that you trust that God is beside you and helping you.  You can't fix what happened.  You need to not let that sin happen again.  You have to learn to be stronger.  Use the past to grow into a better person.

Concentrate on the future.  Be a better person.  Concentrate on getting to heaven.  Remember the criminal crucified with Jesus.  Jesus forgave him and told him that he would be with Him in heaven.  You can too.




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